The Pink Hair (ピンクの髪)
by JeffC FTW
Summary: In old Konoha following a great conflict, a young samurai becomes tired of poverty and leaves his beloved wife for a wealthier one. But he regrets his decision and chooses to return to her - only to find a nasty surprise lying in wait. Second in the Konoha Kaidan Trilogy.
1. Hiyayaka

**Now comes the next in my Konoha Kaidan Trilogy. Previous was "Woman of the Snow", but the stories are unrelated to each other, so it's not expected to read the previous one unless you are a lover of classic Japanese lore. Just like before, this one is a cross with a story by Lafcadio Hearn and adapted in a 60s anthology picture called Kwaidan - all of which are well-known ghost stories. Hearn's story was "The Reconciliation" which eventually became "The Black Hair" in the movie. Both tell the same story: an impoverished samurai divorces his true love to marry for prestige, although he comes to see what a hell of a mistake he made. So he leaves to go back to his first wife only to find something uncanny about her...**

 **Chapter title translation: "cold; indifferent".**

 **I do not own Naruto or Hearn's "Black Hair/Reconciliation".**

Chapter One

Hiyayaka

 _For the longest time, a woman's hair was prized above all else, even revered as frighteningly beneficial. Women could obsess about it to the point of madness - the men attracted would find it more desirable as a top priority than the rest of the body. The hair was a true symbol of beauty...and a matter of life or death._

 _In midst of the nobles allowing everything to get the best of them, both sexes would be caught up in their physical appearances, passionately devoting themselves as though they were deities. But the women were misunderstood: they were believed to be utterly repressed, but the truth was something else. They could be whatever and whomever they wanted without fear of the consequences, even read and write, gain an education like the men._

 _But for every yin, there is a yang. In the most horrific tales, when a woman wronged in life returned as a vengeful spirit, her long, beautiful hair once so innocent and weak would become a powerful weapon..._

~o~

Over the years, in every season, it would only grow stronger and stronger, so perhaps the symbolisms had something to do with it, without either of them ever being aware.

It began in the beginning of the winter solstice when the harvests were over and everything gathered, but then there would be fishing for crabs, shrimp and hunting for what you have to in the woods. Desperate times called for desperate measures. The terrible blizzards had not yet begun, but the unbearable cold started killing any signs of remaining life. When the storms would come, you were never to go out there unless it was urgent. Safe inside the warmth of your home, you would be entitled to a warm fire and food, if you were in the privileged class, that is. The peasants had hand-made warmth by their own, doing everything themselves without the use of servants.

The samurai worked with their hands, too, but even half of the lot considered themselves better than the ones beneath, despite a few fractions having once been in that status and earned it.

Their good fortune could one day end, with their masters' disgraces or deaths, or the warriors committing the act themselves. So nothing lasted forever; there was only enjoying while you could.

During this day, it was bright blue skies over the serene, idyllic white landscape which glittered like countless diamonds. This was on the hills, mountains and forests that surrounded Konoha. A young boy of twelve watched, comfortably spooned against the window which was opened not even halfway so the frigid air wouldn't be let in. There was no fire as it was necessary only when at night, the temperatures were at their coldest. He loved to lay before it to fall asleep faster. He'd done it ever since his parents died of the plague years ago, and his brother would read stories to him while keeping him close. Now he enjoyed it even so.

Wrapped up in a heavy black garment, the boy had ravenesque hair which was spiked backwards like the tail of a duck, tinted with blue like the skies darkening into night - his matching eyes appeared to be depthless. He was Sasuke Uchiha, the youngest - at the present - of the remaining Uchiha samurai clan. A few families within this ancient clan remained today, but he and Itachi were the only ones without being married - though his brother was at the age to choose a bride, and he was considering Hanaru Uzumaki, the elder sister of Sasuke's best friend from younger childhood.

He gritted his teeth. _When will you be home, big brother?_

And just like that: when you speak of the devil, he would appear. The door opened just as he silently prayed for Itachi's safe return after months of absence. In those times, he had to just learn to fend for himself while his brother was away protecting this village. It was those damned Ame samurai, that's what!

And perfect older brother to come back refreshed as if he hadn't been scarred or slashed. Sasuke didn't know yet, but his elder had the tendency to wash his face at the river in every season, even in winter. Now was no exception; long raven hair tied behind his head, helmet removed and beneath one arm, seemed to be frosted, for you could see the glittering diamonds in the locks. It was like gathered stars against the night sky. Itachi could have any woman he wanted, and here he was thinking about settling down with Sasuke's friend's sister.

"You're back, brother," Sasuke told him, staying where he was. "Did you have to stain your sword with Ame blood?" He was an Uchiha, so he looked forward to the day when he would do the same. To see enemies fall when they dared to set foot on HIS grounds. _But it would also make me so strong that even my brother would be so proud of me._

Itachi chuckled as he began to work on his armor, but the servants who came in assisted with the layers. Everything from the outside until they got to the inside where Itachi's powerful, statuesque build was revealed. If only Sasuke could one day have a body like that, and that meant plain hard training without any distractions.

The elder Uchiha glanced his way when he answered. "I'm afraid you'll be disappointed, Sasuke. We got lucky - or rather, I did. The emperor's unit is composed of the strongest besides myself. Kakashi and Gai had their fair share of the brunch more than I, for they were lucked with only two Ame samurai who somehow suffered a dispute in their village and were wandering." That could only mean they refused to commit _sepukku_ in order to avoid dishonor; had they lived, they would have ended up as ronin, or samurai for hire.

Sasuke didn't hate Kakashi Hatake and Maito Gai, but he couldn't help but feel a little jealous that his perfect elder brother didn't get his rewarded share. Another of Itachi's lessons came to mind: _you don't defend your country to seek only glory. You can't always be blessed, for someone else deserves a chance._

"So, did you have any luck training today?" Itachi asked with a smile, going to sit in front of him and looking out the window, admiring the view.

"I absolutely did! And tomorrow, if you have time, you can watch me or help me if I did something wrong. I've waited for you to come home for this, as always. Your approval matters more to me than anyone else's, big brother."

Laughing, Itachi reached to poke the boy's forehead with his index and middle fingers like he always did, and it made Sasuke blush angrily. He always did that to him when he would say "sorry, Sasuke, but next time" - and often he wouldn't keep his promise. But what he said wasn't that this time, making the boy happy. "All I could think about was coming home to my little brother just to hear you say that." But then the smile was gone.

"However, Sasuke, I don't know if I should repeat myself to you -"

 _Oh, not that again._ Yet here he was repeating big brother's words of wisdom: "There is more to life than just fighting, becoming stronger and proving yourself - and more than just living off of privilege because there is a chance we might become disgraced. Life has its turns for better or worse," Sasuke said bitterly, looking down at his lap at nothing in particular. Seeing nothing but black which represented an uncertain future and a surprise waiting at the end of the tunnel.

Itachi stood up then. "Well, never mind the lectures today. I assume you haven't eaten before I returned...?" His eyes sparkled, which said that he wanted to whip up what fresh catch he purchased from the village before he returned.

The boy jumped up, eager and enthusiastic. _Love big brother's handmade when he is home, doing everything himself and accepting help when he wants it - and a samurai has to have sustenance._

~o~

He didn't understand why men were fond of women's long hair, since he didn't care about such things, and when he told this to his brother, Itachi just laughed and said it was exactly what it was, nothing else. The body - the subject which made Sasuke blush red as his favorite tomatoes - was a matter concerned only when it came to marriage, which was something Sasuke was far from, but he would have to face THAT subject sooner or later.

His brother said that even back in the Heian times, women were obsessed with their hair, taking even up to the entire day of combing and treating it to perfection. These secrets were kept among women, but for the sake of understanding and teaching, some of them would be leaked out. It made Sasuke wonder if it was really that simple or if it was really necessary to know all of that.

"It was the first thing I saw in Hanaru," his brother said when they were sitting before the fire, and he was polishing his weapons. "Many women had their hair touching the floor, some longer than their actual height. But her - hers reached the knees. The sun and maybe fire, or both, resided in that hair which was softer and brighter than even sand. Red streaking through precious yellow like a flame. I've never seen anything like that." His eyes were shining.

Sasuke pondered this out of curiosity. He was only twelve, so he was too young to even think about girls, but someday that could change. He cringed, hoping not. He didn't even like girls, but when he told his brother this, Itachi said he once thought like that, too.

All he could think about was his own future and focusing all his energies to make it happen, uncaring it would have happened anyway because he was an Uchiha. But being an Uchiha meant more than just the name.

Right now, he wanted to just listen to what his superiors said and when he was grown up, he would be his own man with what he learned.

Completely ignoring Itachi's concern with these ideals.

The next day, when the sky was clear again, they were in the indoor training room, that pride was in big brother's eyes which made him happier and more determined.

It would be two weeks later when Konoha's Shin'nen Festival took place that his luck changed, and he had no idea how to handle what happened. This event was a significance of the new year, where it was lightly snowing as evening fell for the hundreds of lanterns to be lit, as well as the candles in small snow domes and lantern images in snowy structures which were made by hand. Music traditional of their people was played, songs sung, and being served was sake, _mochi_ sweets and warmed seafood.

Sasuke hated sweets, but Itachi adored them. _I still don't know how anyone could handle them when all they do is make your teeth rotten._

He pulled his heavy kimono around himself, though it could go no tighter than it was. Why did they have to have things like this in this weather? "Because it's to ask for good fortune under harsh circumstances," his brother told him, though beneath that kind face was irritation that he wished his younger brother would start growing up, making Sasuke flinch inside. He hated seeing Itachi disappointed because of something he did.

He decided to just be a good boy and light a lantern or two, sing along - even if he didn't know how to - and then head off to the food stands for anything but _mochi_ on sticks, although he planned to get some for Itachi...before he was beat to that.

"Sasuke, I see you're enjoying yourself," Hanaru told him as she approached him with a plate of steaming dango in hand. They were the tri which Itachi loved more than the rest. The beautiful woman with the fiery hair his brother fondly described was in a lush, heavy kimono of ivory which gave way to a soft blue, covered all over with flowers in many dark shades of blue. Her eyes were dark right now since it was night, but they were bright and clear as the sky without even a cloud. Just like her brother, whom he was expecting to see tonight, but that loudmouth could be off doing whatever mischief he was known for.

He did NOT think of her the way Itachi would assume, but he did see what his brother was talking about. He had no ill-will towards the young woman, but if she and Itachi were to marry, that meant everything would change. He would lose his brother who was always his reason for living. The one who raised him since their parents died when he was only nine and Itachi fourteen. They were raised by their grandfather for a year before the old man died, leaving Itachi to do the rest. A man at fifteen - he was someone special!

A young man and woman were both considered of age when they reached twenty, and thinking of that made Sasuke so impatient. Eight more years was a long way off.

He gazed up at the three fires that roared to the skies, to the heavens as means to kick off the party after prayers were spoken. _To make new bonds as well as to enjoy the ones you have - well into the start of the new year. To pray for a bountiful harvest, to wish for the safety of friends and loved ones, and good fortune as a whole._

"Well, it was wonderful to see you," Hanaru told him kindly, walking off to find Itachi now that her favorite part was beginning. She loved these events, and she did a fine job showing no trace of discomfort for the cold.

Sasuke found himself enjoying hot, steaming rice and pieces of salmon when he found himself nearly running into someone and angrily snapped, "Will you watch where you are going?!"

The voice was soft and feminine. "Oh, I'm sorry! I'm just enjoying myself so much that I forget myself. But you don't look like you are."

"It's all right, but it's not like I'm obliged to," he said, looking into the face of the person and holding his breath at what he saw, then releasing it when he couldn't believe what it was. The girl looked to be his age at least, with a smile sweet as her face, and eyes green as the spring grass. "I...just prefer quiet. I'm here because my brother and his woman as well as all our friends enjoy it." He couldn't believe it, but he halted his words in front of a GIRL of all people!

It wasn't just her face he was stricken by, but her _hair._ Who in the name of the Kami had hair like she did? It was tied back by a dark red ribbon, but it was thick and shiny - and _pastel pink._ Sasuke shook his head and took a step back, overcome by the thought she could just be a ghost or some kind of faerie instead of a human being. She noticed his air and looked at him with concern. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Why was he talking to her? He had better things to worry about than some girl, but here he was exchanging a few words. "Yes, I'm fine," he said irritably, assuming his Uchiha indifference, which Itachi hardly used since he wasn't like the rest of their clan. But she didn't seem affected, which annoyed him.

"Well, I'm Sakura. Sakura Haruno."

What was the irony here: a walking flower in winter? He brusquely answered, deciding to just get away from her. "Sasuke Uchiha," was all he said before he turned to leave her alone, wishing to find either his brother or Naruto. Ignoring the disappointed young rosette who watched the equally young raven leave her without any kind words - but at least she got his name.

 **Japanese women's hair has long since been a symbol of real beauty above all else, and you can see it yourself everywhere. In both love as well as horror stories, it was a "matter of life or death for the ladies of the court". The information came from an article called "Japanese Horror; Hair; Yokai; Culture; Wa" (though I was protected with my virus defenses, since it was missing something on the webpage).**

 **In** _ **Genji Monogatari,**_ **there is one character who was popular with the men and then one day got the attention of one man whose infatuation with her hair at first sight was enough to make him fall in love with her. The hair was all it took. :3**

 _ **Shin'nen**_ **\- New Year. :) I don't know if a festival of the name exists in Japan, but if it does, can someone let me know?**

 **It was inspired by three real winter festivals: Hirosaki Snow Lantern Festival (uses of the hundreds of lanterns), Yokote Kamakura Festival (the sake, sweets and such served as well as the prayers for a better harvest and safety of loved ones, even the candles in the snow domes); finally is the Nozawaonsen Fire Festival (specifically the aspects of the roaring fires blaring, and the participation being a mandatory rite of passage for men native to the village of the name, as well as to forge new relationships and friendships).**

 **I have no idea if back then if feudal Japan had the legal age of twenty as it is today. I tried looking and wasn't lucked.**

 **Reviews appreciated. :D**


	2. Meiyo

**This chapter contains not only history of the samurai life (yes, if you know it, you know what I mean), as well as that of certain entertainers. Before I began, I wanted to do something different with Sakura, given what I did with Hinata and Tsunade together in "Woman of the Snow", despite this story being different from its predecessor. I also wanted to keep Sakura in character of Part Two without going all the way in Part One (the one we couldn't stand).**

 **Chapter title translation: "honor".**

Chapter Two

Meiyo

Sasuke Uchiha learned his lessons and took them seriously when he was ten years old. As a young child, he played warrior with his brother who mastered much sooner than he. It was child's play until he knelt before his parents and received the lectures - stern from Fugaku but tender from Mikoto.

Now, when you were a warrior for your land, it was more than just a job; it was your life. When your family before you pledged their lives to your lord, it meant unwavering loyalty if it meant death. When you married, your wife was obliged to follow suit - if she were a true warrior like yourself, which was hardly a case. Women became samurai notably to protect the lands and the children; seldom would she go out. This Sasuke thought was purely a man's world, as far as he was concerned. Itachi said their father once explained within their clan that men protected their women and children as it had been made.

As a whole, you were expected to give your life without hesitation. Disgrace would come in many forms: defeat and cowardice to even kill yourself to avoid the dishonor. Young Sasuke grimaced when he was told the gory details of disemboweling yourself in the middle of your body, spilling your organs out as the final act before you would go into the afterlife, and that alone scared him out of his wits.

Unwavering loyalty wasn't easy to live with. It sounded as such when your _daimyo_ gave you financial security, status and protection, yes? When you were too used to it, Itachi would say, the blow was powerful when reality would hit you in the face and shame would follow your steps. Everything you were given would be gone in a heartbeat.

How could his friend Naruto be so happy despite knowing all of this? "Because no matter what, you shouldn't give up!" he'd answered when he was asked this. Now, when they were young men of eighteen, he was asked again, and the answer hadn't changed at all.

He and Naruto sparred together in their training. As he got older, Itachi would be home less and less, coming back only to go right home to see his beloved whom he was now married to. The Uchiha and Uzumaki clans united was a fine match, he said, but underneath was that notion he called love. Two souls as one without yet becoming physical, and would only become such when they were truly man and wife.

Sasuke had been stricken with the dark flag called jealousy before he forced himself to shove it down. This was Itachi's happiness and the good of their clan, so he had no choice but to respect their wishes.

He wasn't sure about marriage on his part, but did he have a choice? If he did, then he wanted it to be a strong, capable woman who knew how to handle him, and he would tolerate her if she wasn't one of those flirtatious wallflowers.

Little did he know that the opportunity would be presented before him when he met the one who would be his future in the years to come.

He, Naruto, his brother and many others served under one Orochimaru, a feudal lord with the face of a snake, even the appearance of a terrifying ghost - there was no telling, but he was a sight you didn't see everyday. When he and Naruto were at their age now and tasked with killing the general of the Ame samurai - as well as those beneath him - who were said to be wandering outside their village, it was their own master who had the best with members of the Uchiha and Uzumaki clans, so it was a great honor.

 _I like a challenge; I wish to have that one's head myself - and Naruto to share the victory with me._

All of them knelt at attention that day, out of armor in late winter when the snow was melting, marking the beginning with the upcoming Ume Festival where the plum blossoms in the name would be sweet and in luminous white, shades of pink and yellow, the leaves turning purple rather than green like the cherry blossoms to follow. Noticeable to mark it different from _sakura_ would be the dark bark and closed rounded petals. The fruits to bear would not be right away sweet to digest, but sour and had to be handled with care before going into the mouth and down the throat.

But they would not be here for the parties and prayers, even if they might stop in other small towns and villages in their travels to come. They would do as their lord instructed them.

"Failure is not an option," Orochimaru said, serpentine golden eyes hardened like precious gems in the mines. "We honor our village by laying siege for their atrocious acts over the last year, attempting to start a second war."

 _Failure is not an option. Return home with honor, or die with it if you fall._

~o~

She didn't know who the one responsible for her life changing was, but she would never forget what he looked like. She was always dreaming about the day it would come when she would get her revenge on the men who broke into her home, killed her father and raped her mother in front of her, then would have done the same to her had she'd not been hidden safely.

She spent the last year being on the move, intent to look for them and kill them herself if she had to, but she wouldn't go all out like the warrior men in her own village. She had her inheritance from her father, being enough, but she wouldn't go insane spending it. While she would be out, it meant learning more about the world and each culture if she were to survive. _These men were from Ame, but they were shunned. These thugs are going to get theirs._

She hated samurai; she hated how many of them thought they could have anything they wanted - especially the ones who lost their status and their honor. That was who these were, without their armor. She was careful to take in their clothes and their faces, even their names and counted them - three total - and when they were gone, her mother was barely alive and gasping, begging her to never give up and remain strong. To do what she had to in life, love despite what she witnessed...and to remember not all men or even samurai were the same. Because her own father was one himself.

Only to be killed, caught off-guard, by lowly thieves in their own home when no one even heard their screams for help.

She could have slipped away, but they would have found her and did what they did to Mebuki.

What happened when she told people what happened? Shame, of course. When people heard the story, she was wracked with dismay because she couldn't even fight them off. She had to hide to save her own skin, they said. No matter everything she did for these people, this village she loved, so she decided she would leave and seek retribution. Even if hardships laid ahead.

Wherever she would go, living as a serving girl and eventually a geisha in an entertainment house, she would listen to the gossip and latest news, keeping her ears open as often as she would. With her otherworldly hair and youthful fair, she earned popularity amongst the customers much to the jealousy of her fellow performers...and her hair was the main attraction. The focal point compared to the rest of her being which made her so proud of herself.

She enjoyed dressing up, for girls and women like her were passionate attractions in terms of singing, dancing, playing the shamisen, as well as engaging in friendly conversation.

As a young girl, she took the training, long and grueling, when her mother had been one herself before she met her husband. Sakura Haruno, a round-faced, peachy skinned child with a wide forehead she was self-conscious of, was at first excited before reality struck her in the face with what life was truly like - as well as the fact that when you married another samurai, you had to learn the ways of the warrior if you couldn't go out on the battlefield with him. So everything she took from the tender age of ten to now had paid off. She was lucky the ways of imprisonment, abuse and paid sexual relations for survival weren't existent in Konoha in these times.

 _If I want to give my body to another, it would be my husband or a man I truly loved._

She didn't like makeup she was made to place on her face: that ghostly foundation coupled with penciled black to her brows and tops of her eyelids, finished with cherry red on her lips to give them a good shape. She looked like a _doll_ , but that was the purpose; she was here to make the guests feel welcome, listen to their words even if certain things didn't interest her, and the other girls had to go through this, too. When night fell, their faces would be seen well without reliance on the sun.

Mother Konan came to see her, informing her that she had a very interesting trio of customers who weren't wealthy patrons - but a handful of samurai from Konoha Village on assignment but needed a break while carrying their mission. She didn't even ask their names, just went out and saw the ones she was to perform for; it took all her self-control to not drop her jaw, but present herself with the dignity and grace of the acting hostess.

Armed within her navy blue kimono rich with red plum blossoms as well as her makeup and rosy hair in an elaborate hairstyle that was going to give her a headache at the end of the night. But she had a feeling tonight would be worth it as soon as she saw the three young men she was charged with entertaining, alongside Ino who was wearing the same makeup as her, golden hair similar to hers, but in an olive green kimono blossoming with pink flowers...the flower they would witness blooming, the one SHE was named for, in the coming season.

One of them she remembered once making harmless catcalls and asking her to be his woman, and she was tempted to cut off a part of him that hurt most if he ever did that again; he got the message right away. _Naruto Uzumaki - so, you became that great warrior you always boasted about, did you?_ She hoped he wouldn't start doing it now.

The other - Itachi Uchiha. Her heart just about stopped in its tracks when she was taken aback by the handsome new leader of his clan, but he was married with a first child on the way. He was off-limits, if she was EVER interested in him...but the other made her world turn upside down and then back up again, prompting her to carry out the dance to the music telling the story of the long-gone Heian Era.

She always kept her eye on him from afar, ever since that night they met at the festival, because he broke her heart by running away from her - but gave his name - without another word. Just left her to find his brother or even his friend and comrade here. He said he didn't hate those events, but he didn't love them either. He had listened to what little she had to say to him before running away, like boys would. And after that night, she didn't see or speak to him again, because he was an Uchiha and they were always busy indulging as well as giving their lives for this village. Samurai were like that. Too few of them truly had golden hearts.

The music playing made her dance just for Sasuke alone, who was angular and broad with manhood, his face showing zero signs of interest unlike his older brother and flash-eyed Uzumaki comrade, but his eyes told another story: _I recognize you, and I see your talent._

The question was also there: _is this where you have been all these years?_

She watched him lean to his brother and exchange a few words, but she couldn't make it out and could NOT afford to lose concentration. Was he telling Itachi that he knew her, but only from one night and a few minutes?

~o~

He spited any kind of distraction when on assignment, but Itachi said if you don't have some form of relaxation and release, life was harder than it had to be. So he let his elder brother and excited friend take him to the nearest geisha house, filled with the best food and entertainment there was, denying prostitution in the wake.

Being out of the armor for the night, for they were stopping here for now, Sasuke was relieved to be in his lighter but still heavy kimono while Naruto and Itachi did the same. Their hostess and owner of this place was a beautiful, blue-haired woman with her hair in a bun and accented with a matching flower, before bringing out a couple of her best girls for their pleasure...but the one in particular caught his attention and shocked him, but he schooled himself into the expressionless man he was. This face people knew from him like the other Uchiha.

 _Pink hair...green eyes._

That girl from the Shin'nen Festival...it was Sakura. She was here in a place like this. He hadn't seen her since that one time, but he heard the story of what happened to her parents a year ago when rogue Ame soldiers slipped in. She vanished afterwards. And now he found himself enjoying hot food and sake while she and her fellow geisha danced and served them.

All the while to a song which told the story of an old time passed, of adventure and peace, to the depths of the mind which became the place of happiness - but that _enchantress_ had him under her spell, much to the amusement of his brother and best friend, the latter hooting while enjoying himself some sake as the blonde in green.

It wasn't the magic of the song itself, but only her. As if there were nothing and no one else but her. He was tempted to tell Itachi that he was right in enjoying something once in awhile, but he wasn't sure about engaging in the act with a prostitute even. As far as he was concerned, that kind of matter was reserved between husband and wife, which Itachi believed in, too, even if the marriage was on the rocks.

He was certain, as well, he didn't like the way these women had their hair the way they did...but parted down the middle, long and shiny like his brother said was the most desirable.

But it also exposed that elegant column of a creamy neck, while the rest of her body was hidden well. Sasuke didn't understand why the neck was so attractive, but it _was_.

He hadn't said any words to her, just seen her only now in this light, and that makeup - though known to attract customers in the past, her not being the only one - and he knew he was the fish on the hook she cast out to him. She had him wrapped around her finger without trying too hard.

She was the daughter of a samurai, excelled in the arts, and now he had an idea as to why she could be in a place like this besides to start her life over: _she is hunting for the monsters responsible for destroying her family._

"Do you know her, Sasuke?" Itachi whispered to him, and he answered without hesitation that it was a long time ago, where and when it happened, and his brother smirked.

In his mind was none other than the plan to speak to her tonight, seize the opportunity since he would be on the move again.

~o~

She and Ino shared a room together, and before the lantern would be blown out, her roommate and fellow entertainer said she had a surprise visitor when the hours were over. It was social and had nothing to do with work. Frowning, Sakura stopped combing her hair and set it down by the lamp and mirror, standing and going to the door...

...only to find HIM there, in dark winter kimono and clearly sober unlike his blond friend who was elsewhere. His brother had to be, too. He was here alone, which gave cause for hope to rise in her, since he DID remember her more than she thought. Although she learned to never get her hopes too high, especially after her mother and father were taken from her.

"Sasuke Uchiha," she said, standing in front of him in her maroon sleeping _yukata_ , mirroring out of business and here on a personal level for the first time. It made her wonder how often he thought of _her_ , if he ever did.

He answered back in a voice deeper than she remembered, as it was expected. It was smooth, but lighter than his brother's deep monotone. It caused small parts she couldn't place in her own body to flutter. "Sakura...Haruno. I only knew you for a few moments on a single night, and here I find you in a place like this." Then his eyes shifted.

"Your hair is longer than I remember, but thick and glossy as I recall."

Her hair - the main attraction of her life, but the way he said it made her skin tingle even more, like sparks of fire that hadn't begun the real blaze. "You didn't come all the way out here with your brother and friend, as paying customers, just to talk about my hair, did you?" Sakura asked quietly, holding the lantern in her hand on its stick in between them, both taking a single step closer to each other.

Almost like moths close to the flame.

"You're right," he answered. "Itachi, Naruto and I as well as others are scattered out in these parts on a mission assigned by our lord. The Ame samurai, for the things they did to us. What about you?" His eyes darkened but glimmered like rocks in the water.

Sakura was sure her eyes hardened when she answered, spitting venom. "I'm looking for the ones who did those horrendous things to my parents. Two down...and one to go."

 **The song Sakura danced to was "Heian Period" by Derek and Brandon Fiechter. In Sasuke's mind which was his view of the "era long passed" came from the comment of one who enjoyed the YouTube video.**


	3. Fukushū

**What happens is something sure to be controversial for us who love a certain main character. :'( Hopefully it is the last time to do this, so please don't flame me for this. Some gore is in here, too.**

 **Chapter title translation: "revenge".**

Chapter Three

Fukushū

He was pleased she wasn't wearing that makeup and large hairdo when she stood before him. As far as he was concerned, it took away her natural beauty. And last time he saw her hair, it reached her shoulders, but now it was as long as the end of her rear.

 _Spending hours, an entire afternoon, or what time to even perfect it the way it is now?_

She had that sparkle in her eye just like that night, accompanied by a wary maturity so to protect herself. Because she'd lost her parents, so she couldn't trust anyone anymore. Sasuke half-knew what that was like, as well as what it was like to not lower your guard around just anyone. Although, he could still see that sweetness when she looked upon his face. He had to tell her that he was here on assignment with his brother and friend - and her reasons for being here other than her work was something just like him, but far more personal.

She was looking for the ones responsible for her parents' deaths. One was remaining, and here she was until she found him. He didn't know what to think or feel, other than wondering what she would do with her life afterwards and if she would really be satisfied. "What are you going to do when your mission is complete?" he had to ask her, knowing full well that if she returned home, she would be so wretched. He didn't like thinking about that in the slightest. She deserved better than all of this.

Was he developing a soft spot for a girl he knew for a single night and then learned what happened to her family that she would be reduced to this?

"I don't know," she answered frostily, emerald eyes hard like beach rocks, "but all I can think about is spitting on the corpse of the final one."

"Do you even know who he is?" Sasuke asked, because he doubted it in the slightest. _She must have a good memory of their faces, however._

She shook her head, but he couldn't tell if she was lying or not. "There's a chance he could come here, and when he does, I'm ready for him. I know what samurai are like, Sasuke," she stated, hinting that she was looking at him as one example which disturbed him. She thought he was just like the rest of his lot now, but she didn't know that he loathed taking pleasure at any time.

"I'm not like that, and neither is my brother or my friend. I act on orders while these men did what they wanted to just to satisfy themselves."

Sakura huffed and turned on her heel, the lantern reflecting off of her hair in streaks. "I'm going to bed now. It was nice seeing you again after all these years." But he acted on his own, reaching out and grabbing her by the sleeve of her _yukata_ , making her turn back around so they were once more face to face, the lantern in her hand serving as the middle point.

"What if you don't have to finish your revenge alone anymore? Your enemies are my enemies, since they are both from the same place. I would ask you to come with us, but there is a chance more bloodshed in greater numbers could occur."

"I can take care of myself just fine now," she stated. "I'm stealthy."

Not that he doubted it in the slightest, because if two of the three were dead and she was behind it... "I suppose we could use you, then. I'll have a word with my brother." He backed away from her by a single step, the wood creaking beneath his bare heel.

There was a small smile on her face, reminiscent of that night. This time he wasn't annoyed, but he was taken in. He found he liked this beside the hard resolve he'd witnessed moments ago. "And when all of this is over, does this mean we might return home in time for the Hanami Festival?" she asked. "Where I see you smiling because you enjoy it along with my company unlike your attitude at the Shin'nen?"

Sasuke had no idea how to respond to that. He wasn't aware of the effect his lack of a smile had on other people, since no one dared cross an Uchiha - but she had. "I wasn't aware that a smile was appreciated of me, unlike from my brother," he said.

Sakura laughed. "Mother always said a smile connects from family to friend, lover and acquaintance all in one. The smallest things in life form bonds."

 _The smallest things in life form bonds..._

She sounded almost _exactly_ like Itachi.

"Excuse me, Sakura, we should get to sleep before Mother scolds us," her blonde friend called after her, making her scoff. "And Master Uchiha, you can have a go at my friend again tomorrow during the day!" Taking a glimpse at her, Sasuke noted how she, too, was lovely, and how much longer her hair was in contrast to Sakura's in that it reached the backs of her knees. But it was far too common for his taste. Anything that was TOO large was overindulgent.

The way the rosette looked at that was something like jealousy, as if she silently wished she had hair that long, but why should she? He didn't understand women any more than before.

But to look upon that waterfall of springtime made him want to run his fingers through it and see if it really was as soft as it looked, if it was as luxurious as men said it was. If Itachi really meant his word as he always did...

"If it won't be an issue," he said suddenly, against his better judgment, "if your friend will kindly accompany me back for the rest of the night. We have much to discuss."

He was doing this against the rules for the girls, but he intended to go through the mother of the house if she ever discovered this. But either way, Sakura Haruno would go with him since she already agreed to it, and it was clear she didn't care what happened to her as long as she was satisfied. To look upon her now red face was amusing, to say the least, when she must have gotten the wrong idea, never mind they were childhood acquaintances.

"Sasuke," she protested, "it's after hours!"

He grunted. "I know, but I don't care either."

~o~

Being in the assigned room for Sasuke, his brother and that Naruto Uzumaki - was she dreaming?

His hand holding hers told her that she was really experiencing it. It was almost a dream in itself, and one she didn't want to wake up from.

Itachi and Naruto were sound asleep, and it was just the two of them in his area, lantern still lit and them speaking in hushed voices. He had offered for her to come with him, but she would have to know she was facing against _samurai_ as if he hadn't heard her say she'd already killed two of the ones responsible for her parents' deaths and her disgrace. He asked her what she would do with her life after her goal was accomplished, and she didn't care as long as it was satisfactory.

Now that she thought of it, marriage was logical, but she was too hesitant to fire the shot to HIM. It was too big a move to make. Though he _was_ agreeing to help her get her revenge - except that left one problem now that they were talking about it.

Revenge within samurai and against them took place when they needed help from their spouses and other relatives. Sasuke Uchiha wasn't her husband or related in any form, so that was impossible - unless they truly wed or at least pretended to. She wasn't sure she would live with a false marriage, because it was a serious matter as far as she was concerned. This he surprisingly agreed with her on.

"We ought to just break that rule, even if it causes further scandal. No one should know except the four of us - you and me, my brother and Naruto."

She gasped in surprise, the feeling going throughout the rest of her body. "S-Sasuke, you don't mean that, do you? What of your family name? And what if they disown you for marrying a lowlife like me?" she uttered, biting her tongue when she noticed how he slid a little too closer for comfort for her.

"I couldn't care less what they think of me, Sakura. The only thing I care is..." He stopped himself, but she had a feeling she knew what it was, and he wasn't going to fire the shot either. It caused the corners of her eyes to burn.

Then his mouth twitched. "And lowlife? That's a word for those three scum of the earth. As far as I am concerned, you're a...blossom that was removed from the tree too early."

It sounded like he felt unsure of saying such things which were still alien to him, but it made her feel...it didn't take much to say that he meant it, which was all she needed. "Sasuke, I shouldn't even expect any of this from you. It's almost too good to be true."

He chuckled. "I'm a samurai, and my job is to protect and serve. I step on anyone who gets in my way - and whoever offends someone who is near to me," he stated firmly.

He'd just told her that, despite the fact they still barely knew each other, she was someone he would gladly defend to his last breath. "Kami, you chivalrous Uchiha," Sakura said in spite of herself, and did the one thing she dreamed of doing since she was a little girl to this particular young man.

Her lips softly touched his, but the simplest contact caused him to stiffen in his place. Suddenly she felt compelled to get up and flee from his presence because she acted based on her heart, which was a dangerous thing besides being wonderful and natural, but he latched his hand onto hers and insisted she stay. That she did nothing wrong. What a man he was.

And it was back to a certain aspect that mesmerized him, smoldered his eyes which made her skin boil with fervor. "Your hair...I remembered it ever since that night, and it haunted me day and night, but I never even thought I would see you again until now."

Sakura was too paralyzed to react when he leaned in closer than necessary, inhaling the fragrance that dominated both her skin and her hair. "Mmmm..." That murmur sensitized her spine. "...I don't know what this is, but I smell all kinds of flowers." _An indescribable bouquet._

Now he was running a hand through her hair, combing through it the way she would during the day before each performance and at night before bed. If he kept this up, it might lead to something so much more, escalate out of control. "Sasuke, I don't think -" Her voice failed her when his fingertips pressed against the back of her neck where its base joined with the end of her skull.

"Sshhh, it's fine. I've been wondering if your hair was as soft as it looked - it exceeds all expectations."

Sakura heard herself moan, her body becoming mud in his embrace as she fell into it; she swallowed it down to prevent those two on the other side from listening - but then the screen door behind them opened, causing her to squeak and jump into Sasuke who glared at who was standing there. "Naruto, don't you knock?!" he snapped.

The blond snickered as he scratched the back of his neck. "Can I help it if my sensitive ears pick up giggling and soft voices - the fact my comrade finally picked up a woman who happens to be the same one we had the pleasure of companionship?" he teased, his lax attitude about to earn him a good punch, but that would alert Mother Konan and the rest of the house. She settled on growling at him through her teeth, which shut him up right away.

"I may be a pretty little girl, Uzumaki samurai, but I pack a better fist when someone talks about me like that."

Another man's soft laughter felt like velvet to your senses. It turned out to be Sasuke's older brother, the legendary Itachi Uchiha. "Sasuke, I must say I should applaud you for the man you're becoming," he said with an amused twinkle in his eyes. "It must be a pleasure to be reacquainted."

Sasuke started backwards, Sakura in her own direction so they were a good distance away. "We were NOT doing anything of the sort," he defended heatedly. "She is here because of her parents, and I'm going to help her while we are on this mission. She should go with us, big brother."

Itachi's eyes widened slightly while Naruto's bulged. For a second she hoped Sasuke got through to them, but then the elder Uchiha became firm.

"Sasuke, you realize how dangerous this could be if she comes with us? And did you forget the unspoken rule that she can have her revenge only if you two were actually man and wife?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest. But his younger sibling wasn't deterred.

"I'm aware of that, but that rule will be broken on my watch as long as the four of us only know," he said, now in a quiet voice. "But she has already killed two of the three responsible for her life's roads now; I've decided to assist her with the final while we are all on this road. When we return to Konoha, I intend to marry this woman for real."

~o~

His brother and best friend coming into his area was something he never planned on since he thought they'd been quiet, but Naruto's hearing was selective. And it hadn't been easy to convince Itachi that Sakura should go along, that she didn't need their protection since she'd been on the road since leaving the village.

Before they left, he had to go through Mother Konan, explaining that he knew the girl long ago and intended to take her back to be his wife. Sakura had been packing up in her room, saying goodbye to her friend Ino, whilst he and Itachi negotiated compensation for taking one of the blue-haired woman's girls. She was calm and collected, but in those amber-esque eyes was a brimming fire that she secretly loathed the way samurai thought they were entitled to anything, but she knew nothing about their code of honor.

"Take best care, Sakura," she said of her best girl whom she would miss greatly. "I hope you find what you are looking for. Things will not be the same without you."

Sasuke found himself wondering if this was the right decision he made after all, but everything happened for reasons, and reasons based on the decisions you made. Just as he decided that she would be his wife AFTER they got her revenge and his mission was complete.

It was a heartbeat choice he made that he would damn any consequences if he had to. He'd made the vow he'd find a wife if the time came, and in a night - like that night when they were children - he decided she was the one because they had some things in common. She wasn't what he ever thought she'd be.

Although, there was one problem, but that could wait until after all of this was over.

Sakura rode behind him on his horse, amusing Naruto more than Itachi now. It was here they explained to her what their daimyo, Orochimaru, tasked them with along with their brethren who were out there and hunting for the general of the Ame army - counting the disgraced ones wandering who might be one who was the last of Sakura's hunted - then return home with his head as proof.

"I'd love to bring his head in place this time!" Naruto declared. "Holding it myself, and all three of us get back with the glory!"

Itachi smiled lightly as he chided, "Don't get ahead of yourself, Naruto. It's one thing to let the words leave prematurely." _Yes, Naruto, cool your head. We don't need to get killed by your reckless nature._

And that was exactly what happened that day which Sasuke labeled as the worst of his life, on the same line as the day he and Itachi lost their parents. They were ambushed by the general himself as well as two of his soldiers beneath - and in competition were two ronin who thought to take what they could from the ones they hunted. Generally masterless samurai who didn't live honestly as fishermen or traders, they became bandits.

He, his brother and Naruto were left with the general - a red-haired pierced man wearing the Ame crest on his cloak - while Sakura dealt with the thieves herself, assuming one of them was the one she was looking for.

The lower samurai were no match for him and Itachi, but when his brother was done with his opponent after stabbing him in the man's valuable spot - thinking about that made him grimace - Sasuke found himself momentarily distracted when he saw his friend engage the general...only to be stricken across the abdomen which was a vital place.

He wasn't sure if he was screaming Naruto's name or not, but the distraction nearly cost him his own head before he returned to life and raised his _katana_ , severing the other's head from his body, not bothering to see where it was going.

The Ame general was advancing his way after assuming his prey would die without any further observation - calm, cool and without mercy - and he underestimated Itachi who was coming behind him. Knowing his brother, Sasuke let him do the job which they would be rewarded for and dove to Naruto's side, unfeeling the hot tears which fell down his cheeks.

"No, Naruto!" The code be damned, his best friend since childhood could NOT die like this. When their lord and the others as well as the rest of the village would hear this, they would know Naruto died trying to kill the general of the foreign army who infiltrated them years ago; if he returned home the way he was now, he was nothing but a useless disgrace.

But the blond smiled weakly. "Don't c-cry over m-me, Sas-uke." Then his smile was gone. "But Hanaru - I'm sorry, sister." Blood was coming from the left corner of his mouth. "Sasuke, g-give me what I need."

 _Give you a quick death._

"F-forgive me, my friend," Sasuke croaked, drawing his dagger from his belt. "May the gods guide you. You'll be...honored."

What he did changed him forever.

He squeezed his eyes closed when he drew the blade across his friend's throat rather than going through the long, painful process of spilling his guts out. Itachi must have watched it happen but said nothing. He wouldn't look at his older brother, ashamed at his own emotional weakness which was the first he'd shown since he was a child - but another caught the attention of his ears, some distances away, when it was none other than the agonized howling of a man. Opening his eyes, he jerked his head in that direction and was stunned - and swelling with pride - at what he saw.

There _she_ was, standing there with some blood splashing on her maroon _yukata_ \- the stains darker than the fabric. Her short sword gleamed with the cherry-colored juices of life, reflecting off the shine in her spring-hued eyes. Her long hair which had been in a tie beneath the back of her head was a slight mess from tussling with the bandits who thought they could get the drop on a small girl of all people.

The men's blood on her _wakizashi_ told him all he needed to know: she'd gotten her precious revenge. And by the look on her face as she stood over this man with shark-like features, she was satisfied.

But Sasuke was far from it, since he'd been forced to kill his own friend so that Naruto avoided dishonor, failing to kill the general which ended up being Itachi's task. The severed head was now wrapped up and tucked beneath his brother's arm, ready to be taken home as proof the mission was completed.

 **I swear to God that these women in Japan loved their own hair too much that they made it the way it was in those days. I read somewhere that someone named Murasaki Shikibu jealously mentioned a friend with hair several inches longer than her height. XD**

 **Sometimes touching that fine hair resulted in sexual foreplay. ;D**

 **On the heavy note which I did NOT take pleasure in, I read one or two stories with Naruto's death, one of them being "Cognitive Dissonance" by Alis Volat Propris (ItaSaku, a darkfic). :( It did hurt very much, but it was handled delicately.**

 **Did anyone understand that this happens for Sasuke to grow up - and also affect him the way it did? I didn't kill Naruto off because I wanted to. Like I said, it plays a part in Sasuke's crisis throughout the rest of the story, besides what the tale's summary has mentioned.**


	4. Hanami

**I guess no one reviewed due to what happened in the previous chapter. :( Not that I can blame anyone if that is the case. It's gonna get much worse.**

 **I've just finished an Itachi/OC story, "The Ronin and the Emperor's Daughter" (unrelated to this trilogy and inspired by Shrek), so here is the latest. :D**

 **Chapter title translation: "cherry blossom viewing".**

Chapter Four

Hanami

He was there. He was right in front of her eyes when she laid them upon his face: that monstrosity that was pale and tinted with blue, which might as well be a fish mutation if she said so herself. He couldn't even be human, and to think he didn't actually play a part in the defiling act against her mother was hard to believe; he simply enjoyed a good killing.

Kisame was his name; that was all she needed, as well as his face.

She remembered when he had that horrifying, unusual sword on his back, but now it was gone; was it taken from him? Was it broken? She didn't care about the answer as long as he died on that very day by her hand. The feeling was the same as the last two before her: exquisite. Him and that other one beneath her feet, the late winter air on her skin as well as her hair coming loose in places - she had never felt so alive.

Sasuke was watching her, and that look spoke of impression over her graceful brutality even if he didn't see everything. But the worst lay in that his best friend lay dying by the hand of the Ame general - whom Itachi killed himself and then beheaded - before he must have pleaded Sasuke to end his life mercifully. _Sasuke screamed when he carried it out; this was his friend, and he killed him to avoid shame._

Never mind the great wealth and privileges; the life of a samurai was barbaric in the end. All that greatness came at a really high price that she wished things were so much simpler. However, living as a peasant, you were targeted by these men who had the right to punish you for getting in their way. She doubted Sasuke would agree with her if she told him all of this, but what if she got him to change his mind as they spent more time together? That one night was hardly any time.

Forgetting about the blood on her dark red robe and on her _wakizashi_ , she walked over to him and stood a safe couple feet from him, keeping her eyes glued on his every feature and collapsing inside when she saw how hollow his eyes were. Filled with shame at what he had to do, despite knowing why it had to be done. "Sasuke." She had no idea how to console him, because no words could make anything better when you lost someone precious to you.

Sakura knew that too well.

She decided that an embrace would do, uncaring if it was uncomfortable and straining. Because when she threw herself onto him, dropping her weapon so that its tip struck the ground, he froze in place while losing hold of his own dagger in his side, same place. He remained this way for a few more moments - until she felt his limp arms come to wrap around her waist. As if he was suddenly desperate for some kind of physical contact, taken off-guard that he never thought an embrace would feel so good at a time like this.

The rosette closed her eyes and buried her face into the raven's shoulder, both ignorant momentarily of the remains of the carnage around them until his brother raised his voice to get their attentions.

"We have to return home, but first, we have to ready Naruto's corpse so he can have the proper rites."

"What are you going to tell Hanaru?" Sasuke finally asked, his voice thick, as he let Sakura go and proceeded to help him by lifting up the dead Naruto - she tried so hard to not look at the dark red mess at his throat - by the legs while Itachi got the other end beneath the arms, loading the body facedown on the horse's saddle before Sasuke got behind his friend's corpse. He was fighting to not look at the lifeless thing, which told her that he wasn't going to be the same after today.

She got to ride Naruto's horse, so that the Uchiha brothers were left to their "respectable" tasks, and it wasn't long before they were met with a trio more of Orochimaru's samurai. One of them had spiky silver hair off to the left side, eyes so dark they could be black, and a relaxed expression, but the lower half of his face was strangely covered by a dark cloth. _Perhaps he is so good-looking he doesn't want women to hound him - or he covers a mouth deformity from battle._ The next man had shiny dark hair cut like a bowl, brows so thick they could form a caterpillar on his face; the other was a brunette, hair cut short and almost to his skill, also spiked, and his dark eyes were almond-shaped.

Sakura learned their names: the silver hair was Kakashi Hatake, the bushy-brow was Maito Gai, and the final was simply Yamato. She thought it strange that a respectable warrior didn't have a last name, assuming he must not come from a good family and was taken in based on his skill, but she knew nothing for sure.

"Naruto!" Kakashi looked at him with more horror than the other two. "What happened to him?!"

"He tried to kill the general himself," Sasuke said numbly, almost as if he wasn't there. "But he didn't stand a chance. Itachi finished it himself and has the head in his embrace." And so the elder brother presented the face of the enemy leader without removing all of the wrapping which was becoming stained with more blood which had stopped flowing by this time.

Now the attention was on her. "And who is the flower riding beside you, Sasuke?" Yamato questioned, before his eyes widened. "Wait...Sakura Haruno? It's been ages since anyone at home saw your face or heard your name!"

 _Perfect, just as I am on the way home._ "Yes, I am she whose parents were taken from her," she said coolly, lifting her chin at them. "But my revenge has been finalized today, for the last one was among those the Uchiha brothers and poor Naruto fought against." She jerked her head in Sasuke's direction when he spoke up for her, the numbing pain absent and replaced with something crystal clear as ice. Ice with a burning core of lava.

"And as of today, since she has agreed to return home, Sakura will be my wife in the near future."

~o~

 _I like a challenge._

He let himself be overcome by youthful enthusiasm, assuming he thought he knew what it was like to be a powerful warrior, to be honored to serve lord and emperor, but then that day he lost someone. Someone he'd known since he was a child, who laughed with him, played samurai with him and trained in the ways, encouraged him to try pleasurable things - including women - when he felt it was a waste of time.

 _I wish to have that one's head myself - and Naruto to share the victory with me._

His exuberance to have that goal accomplished died the moment with Naruto. He felt like half a man now - but the other half eventually found itself joined by a certain petal-haired woman who wasn't ashamed to admit that she accomplished her revenge and was coming home to marry him.

He wasn't going to forget that deadly - _radiant_ \- aura as she stood over the dead men, some blood on her garment and on her blade. She had gotten what she wanted, unlike himself, and was returning home with self-gratification and hopes for a better life, but he was another story. He was heading home with bittersweet victory; he could already see how his pregnant sister-in-law would take the news of her younger brother's death.

 _I hope it doesn't cause her to miscarry._

He and Itachi didn't go home right away, but they were all to report to Lord Orochimaru and share their parts in the mission. Naruto's body was taken elsewhere in the temple for examination. When Sasuke spoke of how he was asked by his friend to kill him faster than his injuries, he held his head high and kept his attention solely on the serpentine man as those eyes narrowed with each word the younger Uchiha spewed without a shred of emotion from his mouth.

"Where is the Haruno girl now, Uchiha?"

"At the present, with my wife," Itachi answered grimly, "and giving her the news of her brother's sacrifice in our place."

"Hmm." Yellow eyes flashed briefly with sympathy. "I pray it doesn't cause her to lose the child she is carrying, poor woman." _Took the words right out of my mouth._ "But in any event, she can know that her brother did it for all of us, and know that her husband lives another day - as do all of you." A slight smile formed on his face. "I applaud you for vanquishing our enemies, and the remaining will end up becoming rats for slaughter at anytime, knowing they don't stand a chance if we should see their faces again."

His lord's appraisal made him feel a little better, but it wasn't enough. _When we get out of his presence, I need something to take my mind off this pain - this pain I haven't felt since Mother and Father died._

~o~

She found herself riding off to the Uchiha estate, and there she was greeted by a few servant women in simple gray kimonos, one who helped her down from her horse and led her to the entrance guarded by a _torii_ , and eventually finishing the flight of stairs until she was met with a beautiful woman who couldn't be much older than she was. Long hair touched the backs of the knees, glowing with gold and streaked with flaming red, and tied below her neck. Her eyes were blue like the flowers on her dark-colored _yukata_ ; the resemblance to Naruto was there.

 _This is his sister - and Itachi's wife._ And there was also the visible roundness of pregnancy in the middle of her body, which she cradled with one hand beneath, back straight and rigid like a statue. "Congratulations for the upcoming delivery, my lady," Sakura said with a bow of her head, making the woman laugh.

"Oh, you can call me Hanaru. I hate formality when it involves a friend of Sasuke's - assuming that's what you are," she said, putting a hand on the pink-haired woman's back, guiding her into the compound.

Sakura nodded, then quickly shook her head. "It's more than that, Hanaru," she said. "I'm...Sasuke's bride-to-be. It happened quickly when he, your husband and your brother were away."

A bright smile spread across the sweet face. "How wonderful!" Then her face fell a little. "But why do I detect that there is more, since this feels sudden? Man and woman take time to know each other, arranged or not," she pointed out, and Sakura couldn't agree more. So, she took her time relating the events of what happened.

"I was at the geisha house when they came, and I never expected to meet them - lest of all, Sasuke once again. We met the first and only time many years ago at the Shin'nen Winter Festival. And then...you know what happened to my family," she said, earning a nod from the blonde woman. "I ran away to seek retribution for their deaths. It's accomplished, and now I am home. Sasuke heard of my story as he stayed the night with your husband and brother. He offered me to go with him, so that I could find the last one, and it happened to be luck that _he_ was one of those to ambush us: the Ame samurai general was there, as were a few of his hands. Ronin competed; the one I was looking for was there, and there were only two. I took care of them myself while the men handled their orders." Sakura halted, and it was by this time they reached a room she pushed open herself after getting instructions. They had reached the main meeting room, and steaming hot tea had been placed on the short table in the middle of the area.

"Go on," Hanaru said quietly, the trouble clearly heard. Foreboding. She was intuitive, and Sakura liked that about her. But what she told her was going to be far more distressing than that.

"Master Itachi beheaded the general, but before that, Naruto tried to do the job himself, only..."

She'd prepared the poor woman as much as she could, but it seemed she didn't need to beat around the bush anymore. Hanaru Uchiha already guessed what happened. "My brother...he's dead, isn't he?" She pursed her lips, eyes glazed with tears she wasn't going to let fall just yet.

Sakura couldn't keep it in any longer and nodded. It was then that the woman took a few deep breaths before bringing both hands to her face, wiping the tears without moving them, before bringing them down again to rest on her lap. She was being graceful and trying not to break down into a storm even though she'd lost the brother she loved so much.

She got up from her seat and went around to hold the woman as she sobbed, clutching onto Sakura as the only available support there was. Since her husband and brother-in-law were meeting with their lord to discuss the mission's events. "I'm so sorry," Sakura whispered, stroking Hanaru's back.

When the lady of the house calmed down, for now, she cleared her throat and accepted the teacup from her guest. Sakura chose this moment to ask her about the child she was carrying, to which Hanaru smiled weakly and said it would come in a couple months' time, in the middle of summer. The rosette wondered if it would be this kind of joy to share with Sasuke if they had any children of their own.

Except that left a question that worried her: would he be attracted to her the same way she was to him?

~o~

Everything was quiet for the time being in Konoha and outside, so he and Itachi were home with Hanaru and Sakura - who had moved in with them, dowry that her father left and all her weapons in possession. Days had passed, the Ume Festival came and went as it was sweet and comforting to an extent now that he finally noticed these things thanks to a certain someone who was still smiling despite everything that happened.

 _Did she put on a smile when she was disgraced? Is it genuine or just a façade?_

The more he looked, eventually he came to the conclusion that it _was_ authentic. The sadness present was slowly going down, unlike the one in himself - only little by little. His brother assured him time would heal his wounds, that Naruto would want him to go on just like their parents. When he was a boy, he believed Itachi's wisdom. But this time, he felt that wisdom slowly slipping away.

If only he could spend the rest of his days in comfort, with his bride-to-be beside him, instead of losing friends and comrades just for the sake of protecting something greater.

Hanaru at least didn't lose her baby or go into an early labor. He thought about how the birth could make things better for the family besides the scheduled day: two days before the Hanami Festival would end. And that was today when he found himself amongst villagers and nobility underneath sunshine and pleasant winds which caused the pale flowers to tremble on their branches, some to fall to the emerald grass and litter like a woodblock painting. There were many locations to sit and enjoy bento and sake, whether it was under the trees or at an appropriate view to glimpse the pristine beauty.

His brother and sister-in-law happened to be on the other side of the tree he and Sakura were under, but besides enjoying the rice and vegetable pieces that were made by her hand - she was fantastic with her hands in many forms, he finally saw when it came to THIS - he found himself savoring the sight of her in the kimono which was pastel pink like her hair and tied with a pale green sash and a red _obi_ rope. And her hair free as a laughing river just the way she preferred it - and the way he liked it.

She was beautiful, kind and ferocious beneath that surface. She was everything he waited all his life for without obsessing - unlike her. The paper she produced from within her kimono was evidence, though he wasn't going to run away like he did that night at the new year's festival.

Sakura had written him a poem, and he read it:

 _My thoughts drift to you_

 _Dreams of youth_

 _Foolishness or no_

 _The various flavors of the seasons_

 _Come what may be._

What she had told him was that she had been in love with him since the first time, how it withstood time even if it were different for him, and it wasn't foolish as far as she was concerned. _She knew it when I didn't. Yet she didn't pursue me again. Maybe she was right..._

She kissed him once before at the geisha house, so he did it to her just now after reading the short and sweet message written by her dainty hand. Was it funny how something simple as this could make the difference?

They were married under this very same spot several days later, and she wore that very same kimono that matched her hair, tied with the same sash like her eyes.

 **Genji Monogatari (1951), directed by Kôzaburô Yoshimura, is another masterpiece from Japan, with a moment where Genji (the emperor's son) writes a secret note to the Akashi's daughter. It's a romantic but tragic story. :3**

 **So, looks like Sasuke's descent is beginning because he lost his friend, if his parents' deaths in childhood hadn't already done the job. :(**

 **Review! :'D**


	5. Jibō

**I wanna say thank you for all those who have been keeping up with this story so far, and I promise you'll see through it to the end. :) But be prepared for the worst to come for our happy couple...**

 **A mention of ritualistic suicide only.**

 **Chapter title translation: "abandonment; desperation; despair".**

Chapter Five

Jibō

He and Sakura had a few blissful months of marriage without regrets so far. She proved to be the best wife that a man would ask for. She took care of the assets, the household and even sparred with him in the grounds, especially when summer came. _She is the best fighter to have by my side._

Hanaru, slowly getting over from losing her brother and having built a shrine in the house for him, was faring well with her pregnancy which was nearing its end, and she was confined to bed towards the final term for the safety of the child. Sakura was often by her side more than any of the servants attending to her every need, and Sasuke would watch from the doorway. His wife would be getting their sister-in-law her favorite tea, satiate the insane cravings with her master hand, and massage the woman's shoulders when her muscles would become tense.

She went into labor at the time of the Ohisama Summer Festival which occurred around the middle of the season; when the day had been humid and raining as it would happen in three to four weeks a year during the season, the child was born. Itachi and Hanaru welcomed a son whom they named after the lotus flower - _Ren. Befitting and symbolic._ He was a precious cherub, bearing his father's face, the raven hair, and his mother's broad blue eyes.

If only Naruto could see his nephew - correction: the nephew _they_ shared.

Sakura was shedding tears of her own when she held the newborn in her arms while his mother was resting, then let the proud father take him and start talking about how he was going to teach him to ride the horse, to be a mighty warrior, but would love him so much more than as just his heir - that he believed in him with every aspect of his being.

"You know, to hold that little angel - it made me wish we could hold our own," Sakura said, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "Sasuke, do you want to have one of our own very soon before you are sent out again?"

He smirked at her. She was so irresistible and subtle; how could he refuse, especially in this weather?

When the Ohisama came, it was a festive six days of barely twelve thousand bursts of color into the black canvas, some bigger than all the rest and lighting up the entire lands. Food stands in the streets consisted of meats on skewer sticks, sumptuous noodles...but that made him think too much about Naruto, and how he would no longer be here to enjoy these events. Just as he wasn't there on the wedding day.

 _One of those days where the heat doesn't prevent us from enjoying ourselves._ At least with heat and rain, life thrived on. Just like humanity suffered, most dying and others living. Life had a sense of purpose in many forms.

During the day, there would be trips to watch the farmers plant rice paddies in the fields. There consisted other activities like walks to the various, colorful flower gardens that weren't noteworthy as those of Hokkaido, but content. Unfortunately, Hanaru didn't get to enjoy the rest of the days of the festival, being confined to recover from childbirth, doing extremely well thus far as her newborn son. And Itachi stayed beside her, not wanting to leave them for all the festivities in the world. _Just like Itachi to be this amazing._ Sasuke thought this with a smile as he considered his own wife's words.

He could never take his eyes off of her in the pale green silk covered with pink lotus blossoms, waving that fan before herself to bat away most of the heat going down on them. And if the gods above would only be witness, there was someone else who could make her hotter than she was now - later if they weren't exhausted by the end of the day.

Starting with always combing his fingers through her long, sweet hair which always got them on the right track.

~o~

Ren was a handsome little boy, just like his father and bright like his mother. The more she and her husband spent with their nephew, the more she wanted a child between them, but they hadn't been in luck yet. Consulting with the physician, the old man assured them both they were fertile, but it would happen whenever it would want to. Sadly, the couple accepted it.

Though Sasuke didn't seem to be too concerned, unlike her. "I'll just enjoy the time with you while we still have it, as often as we can spare," he purred. _Oh, Sasuke, you really know how to worm yourself into my heart like the poet you are._

Though little did Sakura know that would all eventually change - beginning far too soon with his own master.

Lord Orochimaru was considered one of the finest in his day, having risen from nothing and _earned_ his position. His squad of samurai was consisted of nothing but the best of every respected clan, and now it had all come to an end when it came to the rumors that Kiri Village warriors were on the verge of attacking, and Konoha was going to wage against them as long as it was outside the village, but it would always turn into a new battle. The emperor decreed that all feudal lords send the best to kill the general of the Kiri samurai...and he went out with his men, because he missed wielding a sword and the adrenaline of battle, only to fail miserably.

You would think that Orochimaru would commit _harakiri_ himself for his actions, but he chose life because it was too precious to give up. Although he did swear to his samurai they would have their revenge in any form of their choosing, as long as they remember that no matter the failure he always warned them was not an option, they were still samurai at heart.

However, despite the promise, his samurai still lost all of their prestige and power they previously bore.

Sasuke flew into a rage when he and his brother were both informed of this wreckage of their entire lives. Sakura had to bear witness and held herself when she watched her husband raise his voice and sit while holding his sword in his grasp, clenching so tightly his knuckles turned white. "After everything we've done for this village and those outside, this is what we get!"

"Now, Sasuke," Itachi chided as if he were a young boy again, "what did I use to tell you when you were a child?" The younger Uchiha glared at him.

"That there is more to life than just privilege and prestige? I believe I am too old a man for that lecture, brother!" he snapped, making Sakura wince before forcing the tightness of stoic.

Itachi wasn't fazed, at least not in the face. "That behavior is reserved for the boy that my son will not grow into if you make such an impression on him," he warned, gesturing to the baby in his wife's arms; Hanaru herself was regarding Sasuke with eyes glittering like icicles, and that wasn't good. "And I should want better for him than this, but he will learn a far better principal: he'll love the simple life far better than the way we have grown. Someday he'll not have to know bloodshed - unless life pulls him away, which is out of our hands. Above all, it's love that is more important. End of story, foolish brother. So, are you going to throw a tantrum as we clear out this house and find someplace smaller but sufficient to raise and provide for our families?"

Sasuke said nothing to that, just grumbled in his throat and bitterly said, "Fine."

Within the week, the servants were released, the Uchiha compound emptied out, and the family was out to look for a smaller, cheaper place that they would manage on their own. Many of their belongings were sold off to make enough money to save, therefore keeping some important items they had no heart to part with. The weapons were among.

For Sakura, she kept that simple pink kimono and her summery green _yukata_ with the lotus blossoms, as well as her favorite comb which had been her mother's heirloom.

Sasuke's smile was forced, but she was determined to make their days a joy, just like Hanaru. _At least the women are going to enjoy this more than the men - well, one man. But I think I can get Sasuke to see that we still have each other._

The peasantry was looked down upon, so it must have been terrible for Sasuke to be one of them. But she didn't mind at all: hadn't she always wanted a life of peace, so that they could live and start a family? She found a job as a weaver, finding clothes-making soothing if tiresome at the end of the day. And she helped Hanaru with the baby and the house, while their men went out to do the work. Itachi got a spot in the trading business; in some more years to come, he could rise up to be a wealthy merchant if nothing respectable as a warrior. _But he's going to chop down tail who crosses him, and he's good at covering his tracks - but I don't know about Sasuke,_ she thought worriedly.

Her husband continued life as if it were close enough to what it used to be, but not stable to remain in one place too long. It got them all what they needed, but not enough of what it used to be. He took to running errands for different feudal lords when chances came; as far as he was concerned, he was a samurai by blood and right, he said, disapproved of by his own brother and sister-in-law.

By this time, Ren was one year old, and they still didn't have enough to go to the Ohisama Festival he'd been born during. But the joy was seeing the fireworks from the house and fields. The boy was starting to stand upright because his mother and aunt were helping him, and his father would come home some days later to drop his shell and fawn over how proud he was of his son.

Although while his uncle Sasuke concurred, the distance was there. His nephew's growth was the last thing on his mind which was starting to make even Sakura angry and impatient with him. She went as far as to slap him behind the sliding doors of the room they shared.

The look he gave her was so indifferent that it made her snap inside, releasing the flood, and threw herself at his feet to beg for his forgiveness - and afterwards a round in the bed, rare nowadays as that was. But somehow it didn't feel as...meaningful, which made her feel used.

At night, she tried holding him and assuring him this would take time to get better, but it seemed he didn't want to have any of it. She did her best to try and hold onto a warmth that she tried to pretend was not slipping away, when she was sure it was. _He's like this because of his status. Itachi said this happens all the time to samurai who lose their prestige. But he isn't like that at all._

Today, when the harvest season was approaching, Sakura found herself commissioned to weave a lavish new kimono that was going to pay a good amount of silver coins for the daughter of a feudal lord - black splashing with gold and endless color - and night was falling when she was approached by her husband, Hanaru and Ren gone for some errands and Itachi doing business as usual along the village borders. She was at her spinning wheel equipment when the sky was dark.

What he told her that night tore her heart down from its pedestal, and he HAD to tell her when she was just finishing up with her masterpiece that she would take the day after tomorrow to her client.

"I'm leaving tonight. I'm going to seek a better position elsewhere, Sakura. I can't stay here anymore and bury my future because of you."

"B-but, Sasuke, how could you think to do this? We're husband and wife..."

He turned his back to her. "Don't try and stop me, Sakura. And if Hanaru or Itachi try to stop me, I'll be as far away as possible from Konoha," he said, hauling his weapons and pack on his back, then walking away from the area. She bowed herself forward and let loose a few tears. She'd been rendered weak to the heart in less than a few moments by the words of her own husband, the man she'd loved all her life and had been under the same roof with for the last year.

She stood up in a flurry, gathering up her kimono and rushed after him just as he was off the outdoor steps and slipping on his sandals. "STOP IT, SASUKE!" she shouted. "Why should you leave Konoha, your family - ME?!" Her shrill voice caused him to stop where he was, but he didn't turn to her. "I can make life better if you would just wait a little longer! I can weave day and night more than I used to; I'll slave for the better living you want! _Would you just stay with me?!"_

Desperation caused her to lose her dignity, if only to make him see he was making a mistake in seeking fortune elsewhere - where in heaven's name would he be going? - and to see that he had all the joy in the world, people who loved him, but he wasn't having it. Even when she once more threw herself at his feet.

His voice was emotionless, face looking ahead at nothing in particular. Anything but her. "If I lose this chance, I'll be finished. Whatever the new position is, it will bring me new fortune, and if you can remarry a man of distinction yourself, you'll have great wealth, too. There's nothing more to say."

"But, darling -!" She hadn't expected him to actually _shove_ her off of him, and she went into the steps, but nothing hurt her face or parts of her body - except her heart.

"I'm done with poverty. For men, advancement is more important than love alone," were the last words he said to her, before leaving her in the dark, out in the open. Vulnerable and without protection, despite the fact she could take care of herself if she was stronger than she was now.

Sakura remained as she was for a long time, having lost her will to move - until she heard footsteps and bolted to awareness. _Sasuke, have you come back?!_ But when she sat up and then stood to dust herself, the person who came from the dark, lantern and young child in hand, food behind her back, was none other than her sister-in-law.

"Sakura, by the gods!" Hanaru cried, shocked, her son whimpering a little and clutching onto her. "What's happened to you? And where is that husband of yours - my foolish brother-in-law?" She narrowed her eyes, having an idea that was all too true.

It was a miracle she even managed to talk, but she once more collapsed onto the grass when she was finished, sobbing so loudly the Kami above heard but couldn't do anything to console her. Hanaru knelt beside her, setting the paper lantern carefully and wrapping her free arm around the rosette, cooing softly and also cursing Sasuke who left them all.

"But it's not like we can't take care of each other."

~o~

When Lord Orochimaru was still alive, he couldn't have changed a master without permission. Even now when he ran errands or killed a low-status bandit who robbed a lord, it wasn't enough to sustain him and his wife while his brother had his own family to take care of. That alone made him jealous now of Itachi. He could have joined the elder in the trade, but he wanted independence instead of relying or even helping his blood relations.

These impoverished conditions were what he'd dreaded all his life, what Itachi warned him about if the terrible fate became of Orochimaru. Kakashi was now working as a tradesman himself, as were Yamato and Gai, but who knew about the others. Sasuke was glad Naruto didn't have to be here to endure these hardships with them.

How could his own wife be so happy with all of this? She made an honest living by sewing kimonos for the nobility while he was stuck doing errands for those people. His brother was often away, excelling as a businessman while monitoring the shady characters. He could sell just about anything at the right bargain, and his word of wisdom was what the people needed after being above them all his life. His wife helped him by taking care of the finances, as well as their infant son who was growing every day. _How can anyone manage caring for a child at the bottom of the food chain?_

Which was why he chose to leave before the autumn solstice would come, while Itachi and his wife and son were gone, shoving aside his devoted wife who screamed for him to stay - _"We're husband and wife!"_ \- and swore she would work hard for them both from then on, but that was too long in the making for even a small wealthy status.

She seldom gave in and bowed at his feet, and this was the second time ever since they were reduced to live as peasants. For a moment, he'd faltered, but his new future lay elsewhere. He didn't want to spend his old age devoid of comfort.

Sasuke started in the night while it was still young. He would pause at an inn before he would take off. Perhaps if he spotted any kind of trouble regarding a noble alone or his family, they would see his skills and employ him as a bodyguard. He didn't make his plans completely solid yet, but he could marry into the family to further his position.

However, he had to make sure his new wife would be able to keep up with him now that they were of elevated status. She couldn't be some spoiled wallflower, but little did he know...

However, today, little did he know that his opportunity presented itself sooner than he thought.

As soon as Sasuke was leaving, he heard the ruckus outside. Voices were shouted: "You can give us the girl so she can pour our drinks for us!"

"It was YOU who bumped me, you cretin!" another shouted back, and that was a threat of retaliation unless he did something. He didn't even know these people, but he had to act fast, drawing forth his sword, the sound of slicing metal getting all's attention just as the _girl_ was being manhandled by one mean-looking samurai.

"Get away from the girl. That is more than enough," Sasuke growled, his face savage but his insides twisting when he found himself looking at the young woman who was unusual just like his now ex-wife, but she looked nothing like Sakura. Red hair piled atop her head and held by a small black hat which matched her kimono lined with red and gold; her inquisitive and stricken eyes matched.

"Who are you, rogue, to stick your nose and your sword into business that doesn't concern you?" the leader snarled, drawing forth his own blade - but he soon found his abdomen pierced and his corpse facedown on the ground, horrifying his followers who were reduced to whimpering children and running for the hills to pick their trouble elsewhere.

"Oh, you got us out of a tight spot!" the man with the same red hair and eyes exclaimed, going up to him and bowing his thanks. "How can I repay you for this?"

Sasuke put away his sword which he would clean later. "I don't need anything," he lied, wishing otherwise. He looked off to the girl as well as the older woman who had to be her mother, thereby making this man her father. Accompanied were an elderly woman who had to be the maid, and a few manservants in brown. "But who have I had the pleasure of saving this morning?"

The man laughed, waving both his hands as if to say he shouldn't accept this formality. "My good man, I am Taro of the House of Ando. This here is my wife Hanako and our daughter Karin, as well as our maid Maki. Your name?"

"I am Sasuke Uchiha. I currently have no position due to the death of my last master, but I am still a samurai."

 **The summer festival Ohisama (which is one word for "sun") was based again, once more, off of existing Japanese events: the Kanagawa Shinbun Fireworks (well over 15,000 rockets fired into the night sky, but the number changed), Gion Matsuri (all those delicious foods, the wearing of** _ **yukata,**_ **and carrying of fans), Otaue Rice Planting Festival (which is one of several where farmers plant in the paddy fields), and the Nakafurano in Hokkaido which is famous for its lavender and other flower gardens. Hokkaido itself is famous for many attractions. :D**

 **Damn...I honestly don't know what to say. Sasuke royally screwed up; if Itachi ever saw him again, he won't let him live it down, and neither will his wife. But Sakura is something else...**

 **I remember the first time I saw "The Black Hair" in Kwaidan. Staged performances, artistic backgrounds, but the moments you really get the feeling of. Especially when the samurai's first wife pleads with him to stay, on the promise to work harder than before - only to still be rejected. :'(**

 **Now Sasuke just met Karin's family. The interactions were based on one moment in "Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan" (1959) and another in a retelling of the same story in the anime "Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror".**

 **Review please. :'O**


	6. Ishin

**I forgot to mention, Maki (maid of the Ando family) is also the maid of the Ito household in Yotsuya Kaidan. :) The Ito schemed to have Oiwa disfigured so Iemon, her husband, could marry their daughter Ume. Oooh, Iemon was a scumbag, but he didn't directly kill his wife when he DID do the deed to her father just so he could have her; he simply acted as an accomplice, but it makes nothing less evil.**

 **Speaking of Yotsuya Kaidan, the next and final story in the Konoha Kaidan Trilogy, right after this, will be "A Fragile Blue Rose" and is adapted from the famous story, with twists and set in the modern day. :D**

 **Present are written moments from Hearn's original written story as well as the segment in the movie.**

 **Chapter title translation: "prestige".**

Chapter Six

Ishin

He found himself back at the Ando residence, kneeling before the man of the house while the wife was on the other side. The daughter was on her knees to his right, her maid and caregiver on the other side; he could feel her eyes on him as well as that secret smile along with the slight reddening of her cheeks. That was not a look he was a stranger to.

"Master Sasuke, would you consider accepting this as a token of gratitude?"

The gold coins were placed before himself. That was more than he expected to receive on the first day. "Really, I shouldn't accept that because of a simple rescue," Sasuke insisted. "I haven't done much -"

Now it was Hanako Ando to interrupt him, gently. "Nonsense. My husband presents it, you accept it. And if you permit it, you can be our family's bodyguard." She stifled laughter with tightened lips. "Although, our daughter is...extremely demanding and difficult, Master Uchiha. Be sure you learn to keep up with her every move."

Now he had to suppress a swallow and tried his hardest not to look at the girl, and failed, for his eyes switched to his right only to see her looking down at her lap. Saying not a single word. The more he looked at her, the more attractive he found her. And when he finally heard her voice, it was when her father urged her to not be shy and thank the Uchiha for his efforts.

"Thank you, sir."

Karin's voice was...different from Sakura's. Deeper around the edges was the best way to describe it, husky. Her features were delicate and sharp at the same time. "I hope this is the beginning of a satisfying association," Sasuke replied with a bow of the head. He was then greeted with more questions, such as his marital status, his references, the likes.

He was recently divorced.

He was one of the samurai who annihilated the Ame warriors a couple years back, after the atrocities they committed. He was just as good with a sword as his brother was. With that, his new employers were thrilled to have him and accepted him on the spot.

Several months would go by. He fulfilled his duties well in cutting down bandits or simply scaring them away, watched over Lady Karin during her activities which were trips to town after getting permission from her father, doing leisurely things young women enjoyed while their freedom lasted. It seemed she was spoiled rotten from a young age, he noted, confirming something he couldn't bear in a woman.

Although, she was indeed well-educated and learned how to use weapons in case conflict broke out again. She didn't have to go out like him, but she had to protect the home while he was away. That eased the burden of a female relying on him. Except she needed to work on besting her own husband during their training sessions, which she seemed irate about as much as she tried to hide it.

Taro and Hanako seemed impressed with him that they would one day tell him that their daughter was taken by him beside his services to her. It could mean only one thing.

By the end of the first month of spring, he and Karin were finally married in her family home. It was also by then that Taro informed him he would be posted in Kuso Village where he had connections, and take his daughter with him.

However, Sasuke wasn't sure if he was aware of anything, as he didn't have it in himself to look at his new bride who was smiling as if in victory, achieving a prize she had her eyes on all this time: _me._ The sake tasted bittersweet on his tongue. There wasn't an emotional connection with Karin, but he was certain he cared about her to a degree, and prayed it would grow. Things were going to get better...or so he hoped.

When the drinking of sake ended, Taro sighed with exhilaration. "Finally, my daughter is married. I have never been so relieved. I'm happy to welcome you into the family, Sasuke," he told him with a bright grin that reminded him too much of...

Hanako sighed softly in agreement. "Maki, take her to the bridal chamber and get her ready. You both have a big day tomorrow," she said to her daughter. _Tomorrow is the day we leave for Kuso - the village dominated by grass and wildlife._ Karin nodded and stood up with the elder woman, smoothing out the folds of her white kimono without an embroidery - and it was for the second time he saw her that day, finally noticing the way she did her brows which was NOT the way his former wife used to do hers. The natural brows were removed only to be penciled for appearances; that was a beauty tip he wasn't fond of, although he approved she let her long, fiery hair down naturally, almost like lava flowing down a volcano. In a sense, she was very attractive. That meant he could get through tonight without trouble.

That meant he had obligations to fulfill to his new wife, which he heard from both her parents now that he was their son-in-law. Sasuke could feel the sweat on his brow and hoped it didn't show; he got the feeling that maybe the jitters could be newlywed anxiety, which was not what he ever had before.

 _Why am I wasting my time thinking about the past when I finally have my future?_

~o~

 _Sasuke...you should be here._

The thought ran through her mind over and over through the hours that lasted well into the early morning of the final day of March. The pains got worse and worse, but it wasn't like she was going to keel anytime soon - although she had a feeling it was closer than she thought.

"One more push, Sakura," Hanaru urged, holding her hand to her right as the midwife at the end oversaw the finality of the crowning, and after one more shriek of agony from the rosette, the cries were heard just like when her sister-in-law gave birth. Hanaru had often teased her that she would know what that pain felt like, and she was right!

But it was all worth it, because this little angel was placed into her arms for the moment before SHE would be taken off to be cleansed and swaddled. Sakura found out she was pregnant a month after her husband abandoned her. No one even knew where he was now; Sasuke did a fine, effortless job of covering his tracks. By then she was perhaps a couple months along, since her stomach felt a little rounded by the time the village physician examined her.

The baby was a girl, having her father's dark hair and eyes, which had opened a few minutes after delivery. "She's so precious!" Hanaru cooed, pushing aside limp strands of hair from the infant's eyes. "And she was so early!"

One month, early? That was hardly terrible. She'd been told her child would come right after the Hanami Festival would end. Ren had come on time, so she expected the same. _It's hard to believe he'll be two years old this summer...they grow up so fast._

Itachi was home by luck when his pink-haired sister-in-law went into labor. Now he was here when she was resting up...but she didn't feel so good. Despite the joy of her daughter's birth, she felt empty and missing so much in only one person - the one who loved her once as much as she still did, but left her because of something that meant nothing. He told her to remarry someone with money, but she refused to. Not only that, but she thought she wasn't worth being another's wife. And since finding out she was with child, she wanted better than a stepfather.

"It's a shame my boy is too young to appreciate a newborn," Itachi told her as he knelt on her left side, a glint in his eyes despite his haggard features. He wasn't even close to aging, but he was so exhausted these days from working so hard. His wife was the one to offer to do some for him since she was learning from him; he would often laugh and wave it off, claiming that it was nothing compared to falling in battle.

He smiled down at her, then it was gone when his eyes took in her face and dulled hair - _the hair HE loved to touch out of everything else_. The irises hardened instantly as they thought of the person who did this to her, place her in the position she was in now. "If I ever see my foolish brother again, he'll get more than just a bend across my lap just like when he was a child," Itachi once said harshly, his icy tone enough to make you freeze to death, but what Hanaru said melted everything like lava:

"He'll get a run-through from the sword, and not in his stomach - but someplace where it hurts most."

Sakura giggled for the first time then, imagining the pain he'd be in if that did happen, then died a slow and painful death. The distant cries of her and Sasuke's daughter in the other room made her fall into a peaceful sleep soon after.

~o~

Sasuke Uchiha thought he understood the value of love, but it diminished in the heat of thoughtless youth and the experience of desire.

The day after he, his new wife and the attendants including old Maki, went out for Kuso Village, they paused in the forest to pass through, near a roaring river where he was tasked with doing the deed along with a manservant to climb down a small cliff to get just a _bucket_ of water for his wife to clean her face and then dip her comb in for her hair - exactly the same way his first wife had done.

For a moment, he was enchanted by the sight, but she didn't once look at him, except only once when he brought her what she needed. He ignored the bells going off, assuming this was nothing to worry about. He was her husband, and he was here to tend to her needs besides his own. It wasn't going to be long before they would arrive in the village after they crossed the bridge between Konoha and Kuso.

When they did finally arrive, Karin had to say that she wanted a brand new kimono since she heard the finest were produced here. He didn't have to even say no to her, not like before, even though he wished he could. _She knows how to wrap you around her little finger._ He was sure her parents taught her discipline, but how did she learn to get what she wanted from someone the way she did? Sasuke waited in the late afternoon autumn sunlight, the hot temperature taking its time to cool down. How long would he have to be out here while his wife, her maid and another young lady were scouring for a lavish work of art? He was relieved an eternity later when they were finally finished, and Karin flaunted the design to him: majestic purple splashed with summery flowers in red, orange, yellow and green.

"I heard they will have their first autumn festival next week," she told him as she drew her cloak over her head, per custom. "Then we will see the leaves change color, come back out here and indulge in the fineries..."

Now, that was appealing, which meant fabulous sake. It had been ages since he had any of that. Unwittingly, he thought of those times he had with Naruto, whom he wished was here to enjoy his newfound wealth with. He'd just married into it, accepted a position from his new in-laws, but what did it matter?

But as soon as they settled into their new home, Karin's attitude changed altogether, beginning with these words: "You can do whatever you want, Sasuke, because what you do is your business, and I'll do mine."

"I thought married couples don't act like that, lest of all the wife being cool as you are," Sasuke stated, his brain clicking at once. "It's like...you don't care about me besides my appearance."

She sniffed. "Besides living by the unwritten words, we can have and do what we like, isn't it true? We don't have to live like those peasants in the village or anywhere else, Sasuke. It's what Mother and Father said: life should never be boring or with a moment wasted - not even the littlest things to be as they are," she finished with a twitch of the mouth.

That was how their life was for the next few years, and he thought he could endure it the longer he spent...but he realized what a fool he had been. It had been at the back of his mind, and he only now settled.

She was his wife in name only, it seemed after all; they hadn't lied together since their wedding night. This second marriage of his didn't prove to be a happy one, no matter how hard he worked. Karin was selfish and cool, constantly spending her days preening herself, combing her hair more than the last used to, and the more he looked at her red hair and eyes, the lavish clothes she wore as well as those fake eyebrows, the more nauseous it made him. Just as it disappointed him that she could never measure up to him in terms of the way of the warrior, preferring to be indoors instead of making strength and discipline matter - and just looking at his face with dilated pupils with no real care for his well-being.

Sasuke found himself regretting his days here in Kuso, wishing he was back home in Konoha. Wishing he could make things right, knowing it wouldn't be easy.

He lay alone in bed one night - he and Karin shared separate rooms - when it happened as it always had, nearly driven him mad, but this time was different: _Sakura._

He would break down into tears at night. His dignity would be dishonored if anyone saw his suffering which he deserved more than words could explain. He still loved Sakura, his first wife, more than he could ever love Karin the intolerable second. He loathed how brutal he'd been towards her, thinking that he could leave her just because of their hard times.

Days and weeks to follow, his mind was in no state of peace with this revelation. Memories of the woman he wronged haunted him: her gentle speech, her support and spitfire, her dainty yet strong hands, but most of all...her luscious pink hair she adored him touching when Karin would threaten him if he ruined hers.

When he didn't dream of her at night, in the daylight he would assume he saw her, at her spinning wheel and its adjoined equipment, which she spent day and night toiling away in their desperate - _honest_ \- times, but then she would be gone. While he would be on horse and scout duty, he could have sworn he saw her in the woods, washing THEIR clothes in the water she could find. _Does she still cry even now?_

This question he wanted to know the most: had she taken another husband like he'd harshly told her to? Somehow he doubted it. She swore undying love to him as he once had, which increased the possibility.

He couldn't just outright ask for a divorce, but it wasn't like it was written paper. As long as he had a solid ground, it was automatically at an end, and one of them could just leave.

Karin must not have noticed his secret longings, but how wrong he was.

~o~

He was working on important documents at his desk that night when Karin came in that night, wearing that kimono she bought when they first moved to Kuso Village. "Are you coming to bed with me tonight?" she asked sweetly. This was one of her many mood swings he could now roll his eyes upon. This caused the smile to slip, and her lip curled. "What is the meaning of that, husband?"

"It means that I am busy and will go to bed as soon as I am finished." This marriage would end - he had no real master, just married into his employers' family, but that also meant he would be back to where he was before. Although his term was expiring anyway. He had more than enough money and new connections, but he could do what he wanted with it.

"Sasuke, you...ungrateful...bastard," Karin hissed, and it happened in a flash. Her fan she was holding made way for his face, hitting him at the crown of his forehead. He flinched and reached to rub his forehead, wiping away some of the mild throbbing that came from the impact. "I've noticed it all when you thought I was ignorant. You are still relishing your old life before this one." He stiffened and looked up at her but avoided eye contact. He kept his lips sealed. "You married me only to get social prestige with my family. You never loved me like I loved you."

Sasuke stood up and locked eyes with her, remaining where he was. "Love?" he sneered. "You only love the idea of it, but look at you: this pretty shell masking a foul creature."

"How dare you say such things. You're not denying it either," she said, her eyes glazing despite her contorting, furious mask. "Does this mean you're going to walk out on me since we're not pretending anymore?" _Oh, you're going to cry and try to guilt trip me into staying? It won't work on me._

"When you put it that way," he said coldly, "you can return tomorrow to your parents if you wish." He turned to his right. "I won't be able to live with your dissatisfaction any longer than I have all these years. Because when I agreed to work for you and your parents, I was...young and thoughtless. I was a fool. So now I'm going home to find my ex-wife whom I deserted for all of this -" He gestured with a hand.

"- and make amends for my sinful acts."

Karin said nothing, just turned on her heel and stalked out. Her hoarse, uncontrollable sobs could be heard, fading as she walked away.

It was too late tonight, and the day after tomorrow would be the last of his official term. But either way, he was going back home to his rosette, and when he found her, he would drop to his knees and BEG her forgiveness to his last breath.

 **I want to say that because of those who say that they want Sakura with someone who cares about her: thank you so much for that support. Although as for her finding someone who loved her... :( Just wait and see the next chapter, because I've taken a HUGE risk compared to my usual fare.**

 **Anyhoo: Sasuke has left Karin to return to his beloved, but is it too late for atonement?**


	7. Nakanaori

**I can't believe I forgot to mention, when Karin tells Sasuke that they should do their own business, it was inspired by a similar moment between Prince Genji and his wife Lady Aoi in the 1951 film** _ **Genji Monogatari**_ **. XD How silly of me!**

 **Hope you enjoy this moment before the climax - but be warned. I won't spoil, though. Grab tissues and whatever else you need.**

 **Chapter title translation: "make peace with".**

Chapter Seven

Nakanaori

Seven years of an unhappy second marriage, no children and all about frivolous things rather than each other, in contrast to a happier one which could have lasted longer had it not been for him. But he was free now, and as soon as the final day of his term was ending with sundown, he grabbed the reins of his horse and wasted no time getting on the saddle to ride across the village of grass, into the wild until he found the bridge that would take him across the great river beneath.

By the time he was to be faced with the wrath of his former in-laws, he was far away and heading home to where he belonged, praying it wasn't too late. But would his prayers be answered with the sins he committed?

It was the first day of the autumn solstice, a little over seven lifetimes to the day he left Konoha. For two or three days, he didn't stop other than to sleep, and as soon as he was near the border of his old home, he hurried in the dark, taking a little time to take in how different yet the same Konoha Village was. _I haven't heard about it since I left. I need to know what's changed and what stayed the same. But first..._

That first was none other than seeking out the house where SHE lived - or used to? - as did his brother and his family. But he didn't want to see Itachi, Hanaru and their son, but the one he betrayed most of all. In the late hours of the night, the village was silent as a cemetery. However, the full moon aided in his voyage, and as soon as he reached the destination, he was happy to find it exactly as he remembered, though with a few additions that surprised him: there were a few weeds growing around as if to give it a slightly abandoned appeal.

How could his wife or Hanaru not yet care for the grounds?

Sasuke cleared his throat and stopped before the sliding doors in the front of the compound. Raising his hand, he knocked, but there was no answer. He thought it was very...strange, but perhaps no one was home. Or it had been abandoned long before tonight? He didn't want to think so.

What he discovered was a shock: the doors were unlocked from the inside. He didn't know if he was inclined to find that out himself, but here the door opened just for him, destined to let him go inside and explore before he would find the one he was looking for. _If I don't see her, then I'm too tired to carry on. I'll sleep here, or outside, with the horse until morning and go asking for her._

The wind picked up then and there, chilling him up his spine. Sasuke heard himself audibly shudder and clenched his hands at his sides as he went into the compound, sandals still on.

Here he was in the front area, finding no items present that he could see. The walls had cracks in them. What was going on here? The moon was even shining above through a hole in the roof! He was tempted to just turn around and leave, but something compelled him to move forward.

He continued to explore this rickety old place he once called home. Each room had a memory that was near and dear to him. Here he was in the main room which was reserved for entertaining guests and each other. He remembered baby Ren learning how to walk, and swallowed his guilt in not being enthused enough when the little boy fell over a few times, then rolled upwards onto his little rear end, laughing because he was without a care. It made his parents, and his aunt and uncle laugh with him. _All except one._

If he was right, his nephew must be nine years old now.

There was also the modest cooking area where his wife and sister-in-law worked morning and night for the men of their lives. That food he enjoyed even before they were married, before they moved into this place. Out that window, he saw the small area of land surrounded by trees - which were dying with the new coming season, the moonlight illuminating the red leaves like blood - where he and Sakura trained when they had nothing better to do, but it was one of their ways to spend time with each other.

Now that Sasuke thought of it, he couldn't remember a time when he asked Itachi to spar with him when they became grown men. He believed it was because the times had changed, and he didn't need his brother to help him with anything anymore. Why couldn't they have done it for the fun of it, for old times' sake?

 _Itachi will hate me when he sees me again. I'm counting on it. He could refuse to let me back, he could not._

And Hanaru would threaten him with death, he was sure of that, too. But he didn't know how their boy would take him, since Ren was only a baby. He wouldn't be surprised if the child was told Uncle Sasuke abandoned them for something unimportant.

He found the small room where his, Itachi's and their wife's weapons were stored, seeing nothing there but dust gathering where the items themselves once were. He was close to deciding that no one lived here, but he was being pulled by some invisible force to keep scouring -

\- and it wasn't long until he found himself at the very spot where his beloved Sakura worked her love and sorrows. Where she screamed that night he left that she would work until her looks faded just for him. Anything if only he stayed...

"Sakura."

She was still wearing that one pink kimono she loved above everything else - and it was the one he loved her in. _That hair...it's as long and sweet as I remember it!_ She was by her loom, working on a simple kimono of dark blue with white inner linings, and when she heard her name, she looked up and saw him standing there: face dirty, dark hair all over the place, and his clothes dusted. He had no time to clean before he arrived, but he didn't even think he'd find her in an abandoned place like this! And where were the others? He wanted to ask, but his voice was lost.

Her voice was soft and kind, with no hint of hostility. "Sasuke...it's you."

He nodded. "Yes, I'm here," he answered, finding his voice and then turning it off to the side, unable to look at her. He was going to wait and see if she would relapse and show him the cruelty he was going to take.

But nothing happened. "When did you get back to Konoha?" she asked.

"Just...now," Sasuke said, glancing her way again, wondering if he should just lower his guard, if only a little bit, since he couldn't even find a trace of hatred in her after all these years.

"How did you find your way to me in all those black rooms?" Sakura asked him, perhaps too happy and excited to see him. He didn't even deserve any of this. Not in the slightest.

He sat down, in exactly the same place he was at the present, and smoothed out the front of his traveling garb. "Sakura...please, don't," he insisted, maybe a little too harshly. "I...I don't deserve your hospitality. I came all the way in the dark, but I should be outside this place rather than in here."

Her face fell a little. "But, Sasuke, I want to do this for you. You came a long way. I should at least get you some supper -"

"No, really, I don't want it."

She stayed where she was then, and he finally found it in himself to look at her face, noting how she hadn't changed at all, not just in her demeanor, but her face as well: she was still young and fresh as the flower she was named after, not even fading like the blossom would when its time was up. Her eyes were darker than he recalled, though the shine of life was still there. Her skin was clear and fresh as a peach.

But none of it as lush as her hair he desperately longed to touch again.

Sasuke felt himself break then and there. It was all spewing from his mouth as he shamelessly released the emotions, because he owed it all to her for the rest of his life now. "Sakura...you don't have to forgive me, but I was wrong in every aspect. I was cruel and heartless to you. My term expired two days ago, and as soon as it happened, I hurried back here and didn't stop for anything except for sleep. My horse is outside." He paused to take a few deep breaths.

"I was so wretched without you; I pretended I was happy in my new marriage when I was far from it. She was so heartless, unlike you. I could never stop thinking about you for one moment, and I struggled to sleep at night. So, when my time was finished, I divorced her and came back in the night. I wish to spend the rest of my life to make amends, unless you no longer want me..."

He jerked his head up again when she breathed, "You were thinking so much about me. You came all the way out here because you came to your senses."

She just told him that he got what he deserved when he realized the error of his ways, and here he was now. "Forgive me," he croaked out, bowing his head and sliding both his hands in front of himself across the floor as his means of submission to her every whim.

"Oh, don't reproach yourself!" Sakura exclaimed. "It's wrong for you to suffer on my account. I always felt I was unworthy to be your wife, after you left. I really tried to better myself, but I missed you so much."

Sasuke raised his head and saw she was in the same position he was in. _She's harming herself because she deserved it! No, that wasn't what I wanted of her!_ "Don't -!" he begged, but she wouldn't have it. "It was I who left you, when it was no fault of yours."

"Poverty was the reason," she answered, raising her head to look at him. A few strands of hair had fallen before her eyes, but she didn't push them away. "You were always the good man I've known in girlhood and when we were married. I did everything I could to make you happy, but then I thought it wasn't enough," she finished with a whisper, the shine turning into a glaze that made him get up and go to her, kneeling before her and taking her hand into his. It was soft as he recalled, though beneath was callous due to her training and hunting days.

"I'll make amends," he swore, closing his fingers around her hand, then placed his free one over it. "Unless you forbid it, I'll stay by your side and never leave again."

Sakura smiled up at him, gazing upon him as if he were some god. "Forget it...husband. You came a long way home. What greater happiness than to see you again..." She leaned against him then, her head over his chest to hear his heartbeat pick up, and it made her sigh.

"...if only for a moment?"

He laughed, throat throbbing. "Only for a moment? Make it the length of seven lives!" He exhaled when one arm wrapped around her back and the other went to...run through _her hair._ That same soft hair fragrant with a bouquet of many flora. So glossy in the light, so lush in contrast to the finest of kimono. This hair which won him to her so many years ago. Sakura laughed when she noticed what he was up to.

"I remember you telling me the night we met again that it was longer than you remember, and I asked if that was all you came to talk to me about."

Right before she told him her revenge story, which brought them together. It was one of the greatest nights of his life. "And I asked you to go with me, because I genuinely wanted to help you, the law be damned," he answered breathlessly. "I meant it when I said I wanted to marry you. There was no one who ever haunted me...except you."

The tears fell from both corners of her eyes; he saw this when she pulled her head back to look at him. Those glistening waters over soft, perfect cheeks, her broad green eyes taking in his face in the careful, loving way unlike HER.

They remained that way for a long time in this embrace, passionately kissing and forgetting their sorrows.

Now they were in this next room which was much closer to his heart: the very room they slept in, but in the final months, he'd subconsciously and purposefully pushed her aside, lost in his own selfish insecurities. He didn't want to sleep for a moment, but to hear from her what happened in Konoha while he was away, and he didn't care if it would be until dawn broke. He laid down beside her, looking right into her eyes and getting lost as she told him everything.

Itachi had succeeded in making his way to the top enough to become a wealthy merchant, but was forbidden to flaunt it. Thus his wife and son, who was indeed nine years old now, were taken care of. "Where are they now?" he asked.

"They have their own place," she answered, "not too far away from here. I take care of myself just fine, but I visit them as they visit me. I couldn't bear to leave this place which has so many memories - the good and the bad. Now that you are here, we can rebuild anew."

 _So we can begin anew._

It was then that she told him their village engaged in a vicious fight with Kiri some time after he left, and both sides suffered heavy losses and were rebuilding slowly. "But our emperor negotiated with the enemy, called a truce and got assistance from Suna," Sakura told him, nuzzling her nose against his.

"Now, what about your life?"

He refused to divulge his life with Karin, but he gave her the basics: his new wife was a spoiled brat who thought she could have anything she wanted, didn't enjoy weapons and protection like she did - nor did she see him for the person he was, only his face. And when his story was done, he closed his eyes and fell asleep with her.

~o~

 _Ahhh...the best sleep I've had in years._ Sasuke opened his eyes then and found himself looking up at the rooftop, to see the sunlight streaming in small beams on the floor - but then he frowned when he felt something was wrong. He'd slept in this place beside _his wife_ and it had felt wonderful after a long night of making peace...

...but it still didn't feel _right_.

Sasuke sat up and stretched his bones, looking around and trying to figure out why he felt so strange when he was supposed to be happy. "Sakura?" he asked, then turned to look down at her when he got no answer. He reached over tentatively and grasped her shoulder gently, turning her over for his eyes - and then he screamed and jerked back with the force of a storm pulling him away from safety.

What he found could only be the stuff of nightmares, which would climax with each candle going out as the story grew even more terrifying. This _had_ to be one of those stories he heard as a child, but his mind was on the frenzy, which prevented him from thinking clear at the moment as he took in the thing wrapped up in the faded kimono, white as the garments the dead were buried in, and the face of the skull tangled up in long _PINK_ hair.

Sasuke's heart and entire body were all gripped with a concoction of monstrous emotions: icy which froze the edges and traveled with an unbearable heat in which he thought he was going to die in this moment. He quickly shut his eyes and scrambled to his feet, the thought racing through his brain over and over: _I slept next to a corpse I slept next to a corpse I slept next to a corpse -!_

When he was on his feet and against the nearest wall, he turned back around, and the bones of his beloved were gone.

 **Found on the Seek Ghosts article for Kwaidan's "Black Hair": A traditional Japanese belief is if a dead person is not given a proper funeral with respect after they die—they often return as a Yurei/ghost to seek revenge.** **(But I chose to tweak)** **"Black Hair/Reconciliation" has always been depicted as more sad than scary, in the opinion of many.**

 **I know some of you wanted a happier ending for Sakura, and believe me, I thought of it, too, but I had my reasons for sticking to the original material, and it will be revealed in the next chapter which IS the final one. Meantime, reviews appreciated - but please don't flame me. If you guys are crying, so was I. :'(**


	8. Kaigo

**Originally this and the previous chapter were one, but was too long compared to the others before. Nevertheless, here is the big finish, soon after the last one.**

 **Chapter title translation: "repentance; remorse".**

Chapter Eight

Kaigo

He was so rigid he didn't notice he fell through the ruined wall behind him and found himself outside in broad morning light, and his horse whinnied as he was startled by his master's entrance. He picked himself up, feeling his joints jerk with the fright that was going to kill him if he didn't pull himself together.

 _I knew something was wrong; why didn't I take it seriously?! Why didn't I realize it was all too easy...?!_

There was one other thing to do, and he wasn't leaving anymore: he was going to Itachi and his family. He wanted to know the story of what really happened to his wife. How she died - or if he was just dreaming after all, constantly praying to the Kami that it was a dream - and if he could stay and make things right even if he were to live out the rest of his days as a servant instead of a family member. It was more than he deserved.

Sakura said they lived not too far from here, likely deeper in the woods since he remembered there had been an empty, larger house which once belonged to a disgraced daimyo's family - and when he finally found it, he saw life out there. There were gardens, but because of the season, their time was running out. The leaves were glowing like jewels in the sunlight. When he arrived, there were two children running around, chasing each other with wooden poles, which was what he and his brother used to do when they were that age.

He didn't know who that girl was - _could she be their daughter they had when I was gone?_ \- but her hair and eyes were dark, and yet her features...

The young boy had to be Ren, and he was a spitting image of his father with the exception of the bright blue eyes that belonged to his mother - and that was also who Sasuke was greeted by when she came up to him, wearing her long golden-red hair in a tie beneath the nape of her neck, and the kimono was plain dark blue. Dark enough to match her eyes which bore a storm as they rested upon his dirty, haggard appearance. "Sasuke Uchiha."

She spoke to him as if he were such a nuisance she was hoping she'd never see again. "Yes, I've returned," he answered back, and she folded her arms across her chest with a scowl.

"What for? A social call? A realization of your mistakes? It'd better be the latter, because I'm afraid you're a little too late for that." Hanaru's eyes then widened a little when they studied his face closer. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Perhaps I did," he answered. Then he heard the sound of hooves as well as the familiar voice of - "Itachi." He turned around and saw his brother who looked much better than he ever did, but the lines on his face were deeper as if he looked a decade much older than he was.

And his older brother's greeting was cold as the north. "My foolish little brother. When did you get back?"

Sasuke wanted to say _just now_ \- _like I said to "her"_ \- but that would be a lie. "Last night. I came to the house, but no one was home, and I was too tired to search, so I stayed there until daybreak, and I asked around."

Scoffing, Itachi got down from his horse and began to lead it by the reins towards the house and the stable behind it. He ordered Sasuke to follow him and do the same. "Hanaru, take the children inside while I talk to my unreasonable brother." She nodded and then turned around to shout for the children - Ren was indeed the lad, and the girl was named _Sarada_ \- to get into the house while "Papa" and " _Uncle Itachi_ " entertained the unexpected guest they had. Something inside Sasuke stopped when he heard the latter, but before he could ask, his brother beat him to it.

"I know what you are going to ask, but we will talk out here. In fact, there are rebuildings in Konoha done after you left, when we ended up facing against Kiri. Both sides had to pay for damages inflicted, and we are nearing completion. It put me in business, loathe as I am to say it helped me and others like. However, that wasn't all. It involves the wife you once claimed to love with every fiber of your being before you left her after everything she did for you - after everything _I_ did to make sure you would be happy and content," Itachi snapped, slamming the stable door and locking it into place.

"She found out she was with child perhaps a month after you left."

Sasuke's world ended right there. His cherished cherry blossom had been pregnant right after he abandoned her; that meant the little girl _Sarada_ had to be none other than - "And she birthed at the end of March," Itachi said, "which was none other than a healthy, beautiful little girl." His face softened when he mentioned his niece, before it was back to before. "However, the entire time, she would rejoice over the one thing she wanted most, while she mourned your absence and wished you were with her. By the time Sarada came into this world, Sakura's condition worsened, but the physicians found no evidence of childbirth complications."

 _She gave us a daughter - a child I never knew existed because it was MY fault - but she died. She's dead because of me._ "When did she die?" he asked, unsure if he was hearing himself anymore.

"The next day after Sarada's birth. She spent the rest of the time crying, and when she finally fell asleep, she never awoke again. We had her body removed and buried in our current backyard; I had been working enough to get a new house for all of us - this one." He gestured to the property with his hand. "That old place had far too many memories for us to remain any longer...and we certainly never counted on you returning even though I held out hope for the longest time," Itachi said, venom dripping from his teeth.

This was his way of saying that he would have been happier if his younger brother stayed away for their sakes and for Sarada's, because she was happy in their care; that stung Sasuke more than a simple slap to the face. "Well, I'm here. I hurried as soon as my official time was over, and when I got to the house, I thought I saw her..." He trailed off.

Itachi looked at him as if he had just seen a ghost, just like his wife had spoken. "I suppose if you did see her, she said she forgave you," he stated, shaking his head. "It never crossed your mind that it was all too easy? It tells me you're a bigger fool than I expected of you. I thought I raised you better than this."

He couldn't stand this lecture anymore. "I've heard enough of this, Itachi," Sasuke said angrily. "I know what I did to her, so I came back to set things right. I could have realized it sooner, but it's too late to go back and change it. If you and Hanaru would just let me back in, I'll do anything!"

There was a long pause as well as an inquisitive look before he got an uneasy exhale of breath.

"Fine, but for the time being, you're not to tell Sarada who you really are; you're going to work for us as a household servant, and until I see you're worth respect and trust again, I'll set you to work as benefit for my business. That means whatever you catch, I sell. This way you'll be the father your daughter needs, and she can look upon you the way you deserve. Perhaps that way Sakura WILL forgive you from the other side," Itachi finished with his hands on his hips.

Punishment accepted. He started it today and it would last for months at most until the winter season would blow its way in their paths.

He spent his days in the fields, plowing up for the harvest, participated in the festivals but not as a guest who was there to enjoy it. What was utterly humiliating was for him to assist in his brother's needs, like just dressing and undressing him; they'd grown up together, so why should it have embarrassed him the way it did? _Because in his eyes, I'm not his brother for the time being._

Of course, Hanaru made it clear she wasn't going to forgive him - so easily, that is. She was enjoying his suffering, quietly. And of course Ren wouldn't remember him since he was a toddler. The entire time he watched Sarada interact with her aunt and uncle who had raised her while her own father was out of her life. As a result, part of Sasuke thought of leaving again, because his clenching guts took more than they could bear, but he had to get through this.

When he wasn't in the fields, he was cleaning house and sleeping in the servants' quarters. At least when it was over, he would have his own room now, but his sister-in-law was doing her best to keep cool distance from him. "I helped deliver Sarada when you weren't there," she'd told him, "and your daughter is lucky I don't blame her for who her father is. She's too precious for such treatment."

He found himself thinking that _Naruto_ would have been severely disappointed in him. His best friend's anger he wouldn't be able to withstand. _I'm sure he could see me the way I am now._

Sasuke was finally let off the hook by the time of winter solstice. Three months of living hell that should have been worth it, but he still felt like an empty shell of a man. As far as he was concerned, he wasn't going to get married again after his past experiences. He didn't need or want an heir to leave behind something that mattered, because he already had one even if she were female.

What if she was better off never knowing who he was? Itachi berated him with words while Hanaru slapped him on the back of his head for his idiocy. "You're going to talk to her and that is final!"

So when he knelt before her in the house, he told the little girl who he was, and Ren was there to witness. The boy gazed at him critically as if not trusting him, but his own daughter was another story - and she stood up, running to him and throwing her arms around him, crying that she always wanted a father, but was scared she would leave Uncle Itachi and Aunt Hanaru now that he was here, but they both assured her they would all live here together as a family.

"Are you going to leave again someday...Father?" Sarada accused him, having guessed what the reason was for his absence, and he shook his head vehemently, swearing on his life and her mother's grave.

Speak of the devil, here they were now at the spot that was written: **ここに嘘さくら**.

 _Here lies Sakura._

Sitting before where she was laying now felt surreal, but there she was. In a sense, and just like that night he returned, she was with all of them. He smiled and watched as their daughter laid down the greenery she gathered as a substitute for a flower posy to the epitaph's base, then got on her knees and raised her hands to the mother she never knew. Sasuke joined her in the same gesture, behind him Itachi, Hanaru and Ren - but then something remarkable happened which made him cry tears of joy and took Sarada into his arms, making the others smile:

 _"I'm not really dead, Sasuke. I'm here at your side, when you won't see me. You're home now, you've repented, and that's all that matters."_

 **The end was inspired by the conclusion of Ugetsu (1951), which was bittersweet in itself. It's one of those things where by the time you finally come around, it's too late - but it's not too late to learn from your mistakes and fix them.**

 **Like I said at the end of the previous chapter, of you were expecting a happy ending, but there were reasons I decided to stick to original source, unlike "Woman of the Snow". Sasuke coming home to his wife only to find her dead was a way of getting what he deserved no matter his change of heart, because that is also how life works. It's not as happy as we wish it to be. And now that this time, a child he never knew about is in the picture, he has to make his amends by being the father he is supposed to be as well as to earn the trust of his brother, sister-in-law and everyone else again.**

 **Long story short, this was a way to push my comfort zone, so I kind of am proud of myself. :)**

 **To make up for this tragic ending to one of the greatest love stories (if it's any consolation, for those of you who like Romeo and Juliet as well as others), you can look at my other SasuSaku stories which have happier ends, and in the future I'll have a new one called "Bijotoyajū", but I don't know when it'll be up.**

 **Soon will also be the final in the Konoha Kaidan Trilogy, "A Fragile Blue Rose", which will be up soon as well. :D Itachi and Hanaru in the modern age - and involving none other than** _ **Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan.**_


End file.
